Waves nudging five metres are forecast for the climax of the World Surf League's season opener in Hawaii, with Tyler Wright the lone Australian still in the victory hunt at Pipeline.
Wright did no more than necessary to sneak into the semi-finals, pairing a late 5.17-point wave with a 0.6 -- her only other scored ride -- to beat local hope Malia Manuel by less than a point.
Two-time world champion Wright won on the North Shore of Oahu last year when the Maui Pro was moved to the famous break -- historically reserved for the men's Championship Tour -- midway through the event.
They've been there from the outset for the first time to begin the 2022 season.
While the men have experienced the full force of Pipeline this week -- Kelly Slater's buzzer-beating barrel ride in his round of 16 win one of the magic moments in Tour history -- conditions have been milder for the women.
That's set to change later in the week.
Waves of about one metre are forecast on Friday (AEDT), but Billabong Pro Pipeline organisers have already called a lay-day in the anticipation of a four-to-five metre swell on Saturday and Sunday.
"The more I'm out there, the more I'm taking in, putting myself in a good and safe position, noticing wave directions and swell lines," Wright said.
"Every time I'm out there it's just so much information for my brain, it's amazing."
Wright will meet Hawaiian wildcard and Pipeline specialist Moana Jones Wong, who accounted for Australian Isabella Nichols in a high-quality quarter-final.
Nichols jagged one of the rides of the day, escaping out of a side-door opening from deep in a barrel to score 7.67.
But Jones Wong's pair of 5.67-point efforts got her through 11.34 to 10.44.
Carissa Moore, who earlier knocked out fellow Hawaiian Bethany Hamilton, will surf against American Lakey Peterson in the other semi-final.
Earlier, Sally Fitzgibbons and rookie Mollie Picklum were eliminated in the third round.
There are no Australians left in the men's quarter-finals, rookie Callum Robson the best-performed with a round-of-16 exit.
