Sally Fitzgibbons forced to wait in bid to avoid cut after conditions deteriorate at the Margaret River Pro
The veteran is locked in a tense battle with Lakey Peterson of the USA and Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica to stay inside the top-14 who will get a spot on the 2026 World Surf League championship tour as part of the expanded women's field.
All three also remain an outside chance to jump into the top 10 and keep their place for the rest of this season.
But they all face tough round-of-16 heats when competition does resume, with Fitzgibbons up against current world No.1 Gabriela Bryan, Peterson two-time world champion Tyler Wright and Hennessy reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers.
With so much on the line and rising onshore winds and swell, organisers called off plans to run the women's heats on Wednesday afternoon, adding that Thursday would also be a lay day.
Onshore winds are also forecast through to Sunday, meaning competition will likely resume next week with the window open until Tuesday.
Fitzgibbons, a 12-time CT winner and three-time world title runner-up (2010, 2011, 2012), has had to fight her way back on tour via the challenger series after missing the cut the past two years and survived only via a wild-card the year before that.
She became emotional after a drama-filled elimination round heat on Tuesday, telling of her burning desire to keep fighting for her place on tour.
'It's just a lot,' a teary Fitzgibbons said. 'I just want to keep fighting and trying my best. It's the whole scenario of riding the highs and lows of it.'
Local wild-card Bronte Macaulay and Australian title contenders Molly Picklum and Tyler Wright will also be in action when women's heats resume.
A call on whether that will be Friday will be made tomorrow.
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