Sally Fitzgibbons misses mid-season cut again, denied in cruel fashion by world No.1 at Margaret River

Sally Fitzgibbons’ heart has been broken at Margaret River again, this time in the final seconds of her clash with world No.1 Gabi Bryan, who cruelled the Australian veteran’s dreams of making the mid-season cut and earning automatic qualification for 2026.

Having made the final at the last World Surf League event on the Gold Coast and riding some real momentum, Fitzgibbons, 34, needed a deep run in Western Australia to avoid missing the mid-season cut for the third successive year and make the top-14 to be back next year.

When surfing resumed on Monday, Fitzgibbons charged out of the blocks against Bryan, the reigning champ at Margaret River, and was still leading as the pair latched on to waves in the final few minutes.

But just as victory looked within Fitzgibbons’ grasp, Bryan delivered the most powerful combination of their round-of-16 showdown, a nine-point ride on her final wave, to storm into the quarter-finals.

The abject despair was evident as Fitzgibbons lay on her board in the surf, her fate sealed again, forcing the three-time world championship runner-up back to the qualification tour.

Only the top 10 surfers after Margaret River will continue for the rest of the season, and only the top 14 are readmitted for 2026 to what will be an expanded women’s field for the main tour.

Fitzgibbons dropped to 15th and having been surfing in “survivor mode” despite her good run on the Gold Coast, the 12-time tour winner’s exit leaves only Molly Picklum, Isabella Nichols and two-time world champ Tyler Wright as Australians in the top 10 chasing a world title.

Both Picklum and Nichols progressed to the quarter-finals at Margaret River, but Wright was bundled out by Lakey Peterson, whose victory sealed Fitzgibbons’ fate.

Local wildcard Jacob Willcox was the last Aussie male eliminated with his surprise run ending at the quarter-finals.