AUSTRALIAN surfer Tyler Wright has returned to the top of the world rankings.
But she has missed out on adding a women’s US Open to her list of achievements in 2016.
Wright was knocked out in the semi-finals of the event on Sunday (Monday AEST) in a back-and-forth battle with eventual runner-up Malia Manuel in California.
Manuel was then beaten by fellow Hawaiian Tatiana Weston-Webb in the final, by a combined score of 12.96 to 11.34 in swells of a little over a metre.
However it first appeared Wright would be the one to battle her in the final.
Holding a marginal lead until late in the semi-final clash, Wright was only knocked out by a late 7.50 ride by the Hawaiian, which proved enough to secure the win.
But Courtney Conlogue’s defeat in the quarter-finals to Weston-Webb meant she was overtaken by Wright at the top, who now opens up a 600-point lead with four events remaining.
Wright’s lead has been set up by the 10,000 points she has claimed from each of her three tournament wins so far this season. Earlier Wright had qualified for the semi-final when she knocked out fellow Australian Keely Andrew.
