Fan favourite Sally Fitzgibbons has won a World Surf League reprieve, gaining a wildcard to compete in 2023.
The Australian Olympian was the most high-profile casualty of the new WSL format, which saw the women's field cut to just 10 after last week's Margaret River Pro.
A three-time runner-up in the overall world title race, Fitzgibbons was ranked 15th after being eliminated in the round of 16 in Western Australia.
The WSL announced two wildcards on Tuesday with American Caroline Marks earning one to compete in all tour events for the remainder of the 2022 season and the first half of 2023.
Marks is currently ranked 19th but the 20-year-old only competed in the Billabong Pro Pipeline in February, where she was an early elimination before taking personal leave.
Fitzgibbons, 31, was granted the 2023 WSL season wildcard, which means she will surf the first half of the next CT season and will be the first replacement for the rest of this year.
Fitzgibbons is currently surfing at the Gold Coast Pro, with surfers cut from the championship tour relegated to second-tier challenger tour.
In the men's, three-time world champion Gabriel Medina will take the 2022 wildcard while fellow Brazilian Yago Dora is a surprise selection for 2023.
