CULBURRA Beach star Tyler Wright reign at the top of women’s surfing will continue after she sealed back-to-back WSL world titles at the Maui Pro on Friday.
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After her main title rivals Gerroa’s Sally Fitzgibbons and Courtney Conlogue both fell in the early rounds, Wright needed only to win through to the semi-finals to seal her second world crown at Honolua Bay, Hawaii.
She did it with ease in a dominant quarter final win over Hawaiian wildcard Brisa Hennessy, who had earlier shattered Fitzgibbons hopes of winning a maiden title.
Wright had to wait patiently in quiet conditions to start the heat before putting together impressive waves of 8.50 and 7.60 to open up a commanding buffer.
Hennessy answered the defending champion’s quick flurry with a 5.83, but it wasn’t enough to get the 18-year-old out of a combo situation.
Wright eventually prevailed 16.10 – 9.33.
A date with six-time world champion Steph Gilmore now awaits Wright in the semi-finals, but the overall crown is what the 23-year-old coveted most.
The triumph comes twelve months after she sealed her maiden title with a victory at the same event in 2016.
Her 2017 win was made all the more impressive as the South Coast star battled injury throughout the closing rounds.
She tore 70 per cent of her MCL off the bone two days before the world tour event in Portugal in September and has surfed with a leg brace since then.
Despite the injury, Wright has been in the top-three in the standings since finishing runner-up at the second event this season, the Margaret River Pro in April.
