Tyler Wright's Race Against Time for Bells Beach After Injury Battle
Australian surfing star Tyler Wright is in a frantic race against the clock to prepare for the World Surf League's season-opening event at Bells Beach this April. Her latest injuries have kept her out of the water for seven grueling months, even leading her to contemplate retirement from the sport she loves.
A Career Marred by Setbacks
The two-time world champion has faced numerous serious illnesses and injuries throughout her illustrious career. However, the recent pain from deterioration in her sacroiliac joint and discs in her back proved particularly debilitating, leaving her struggling to perform basic tasks like sitting and standing, let alone surfing at an elite level.
Wright explained to AAP that these hip and back issues stemmed from a cascade of other injuries sustained during the season, including problems with her back, shoulder, neck, and ankles. Attempting to compensate for these ailments left her body in a twisted and compromised state.
Mental and Emotional Toll
At 31 years old, Wright acknowledged the mental and emotional strain of her prolonged recovery. "I've been around a few years now and I've had some pretty big setbacks, and I definitely did crack it a couple of times just because it was a very, very long and slow process," she admitted. "It became very limiting, and I like going fast."
She credited her wife, Lilli, for providing crucial support during this challenging period. "I'm very grateful for my wife and her support through it—she saw all of the mental, emotional toll and said, 'Let's not make any decisions about retirement until you're out of pain.'"
Road to Recovery and Weight Fluctuations
After undergoing intensive rehabilitation sessions and relearning how to walk and sit properly, Wright is now cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, which kicks off with three events in Australia. Her time away from surfing led to weight gain, but returning to her physique from 2016-17, when she won back-to-back world titles, has sparked curiosity about her potential performance.
In 2018, Wright's weight plummeted from around 75 kilograms to just 58 due to chronic fatigue and post-viral syndrome, which left her bedridden for months and forced her off the WSL tour for over a year. Reflecting on this, she noted, "I've always liked my surfing when I've been bigger and stronger—that's my preference."
She observed distinct phases in her career: "Before I lost the weight, I was a lot more raw power and aggressively attacking, whereas when I came back, I was tiny so it was much more like precision and placement." Now, as world No. 7, she is intrigued by how her current body will influence her surfing style, though she acknowledges it will take time to regain fitness and coordination.
Competitive Fire and Experience
Wright, who won the iconic Bells trophy in 2022 and 2023 and finished third in last year's Easter event, hopes her competitive spirit and extensive experience will help offset her lack of recent surfing. "It's a great jumping-off point, but it's going to be a steep learning curve, just where I'm at with only being in the water really for weeks," said the Paris Olympian.
She added, "I do have that competitiveness within me and competitive history, where I've been in all sorts of situations before where I can just pull from that. But at the same time, trying to manage reasonable expectations as it's a steep curve from where I have been to where I'm trying to get."
