Hawaii's Honolua Bay has transformed into Heartbreak Bay for Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons.
In two heats at the season-ending Maui Pro, Fitzgibbons went from the world's No.1 ranked surfer to out of the World Surf League championship race.
Forced into a sudden-death second-round match-up against wildcard Brisa Hennessey on Thursday (AEDT), Fitzgibbons could only pick up one scoring wave in the heat as Hennessey secured an upset win.
Hennessey's two-wave total of 11.83 out of 20 not only delivered her a win over Fitzgibbons by 5.16 points but left her needing a miracle to hold on to the world No.1 ranking at the end of the event.
That didn't happen, with Tyler Wright's third-round win over Coco Ho and Silvana Lima a few hours later ensuring three-time championship runner-up Fitzgibbons had again fallen short of a maiden title.
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Fitzgibbons spent almost half an hour in the water after her shock loss before being consoled by her mother.
Her family made a surprise trip to Hawaii to cheer on the 26-year-old.
Despite the disappointment, Fitzgibbons kept a philosophical outlook.
"You can't predict it but it's the way the cards fell today," she told AAP.
"When it doesn't turn out the way you've planned, your heart breaks but you're going to be stronger at the end of the day."
Fitzgibbons' early exit means Wright, fellow Australian Stephanie Gilmore and Americans Courtney Conlogue and Carissa Moore are the remaining contenders for the world title.
Wright is the frontrunner to defend her crown, having breezed into the quarter-finals in two comfortable heat wins, including the day's highest scoring wave, a 9.87 in her round three heat.
Six-time world champion Gilmore needs to win the event to have any hope of claiming the championship.
Gilmore expressed sympathy for Fitzgibbons.
"That was heartbreaking to watch Sally go down ... I've been in that position before where I've lost chasing that world title," she said.
"It's like getting stabbed in the neck basically. It was really, really tough."
Conlogue and three-time world champion Moore must go through sudden-death fourth round heats to keep their title dream alive after being beaten in the third round.
The Maui Pro is expected to wrap up on Friday, conditions permitting.
