Tyler Wright will try to resurrect her campaign for a third surfing world title when competition gets underway in the Corona Open J-Bay in South Africa.
The action at the famed right-hand point break was due to get underway on Tuesday, but organisers opted to put it on hold to await the arrival of a forecast swell at Supertubes.
The Australian heavyweight missed the past three events, starting with the Roxy Pro G-Land in Indonesia when she contracted COVID-19.
After battling previous serious health issues, the 28-year-old opted to sit out the World Surf League event in El Salvador but then visa issues meant she was unable to compete last month in Brazil, with her ranking dropping four places to 10th.
With only the top five surfers advancing to the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles in California in September and just two events remaining, Wright is chasing big outcomes at Jeffreys Bay and Teahupo`o, Tahiti next month.
Currently seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore is Australia's best-placed female, sitting fourth in the rankings while Isabella Nichols is seventh.
Defending champion Hawaii's Carissa Moore leads the rankings race.
In the men's title challenge, two Australians feature in the top five with Jack Robinson second behind Felipe Toledo while Ethan Ewing sits fifth.
Brazilian big gun Gabriel Medina, who won the event in 2019, will sit out J-Bay with a knee injury as will Hawaiian John John Florence while 11-time world champion Kelly Slater returns to competition after missing the last two events through injury.
