Nichols, who came in to the tour leg off the back of victory at Margaret River Pro, only managed to ride two waves and posted a disappointing score of 7.67. 

Her competitor, fellow Australian Sally Fitzgibbons, took full advantage to progress heat 1 of the quarter-finals, with a final tally of 11.83, including an impressive straight 6 on her final wave. 

The result for Nichols means her win at Margaret River Pro looks like a one-off, consigning her to a fourth exit at this stage in five tour legs. 

Elsewhere, in heat 1 of the elimination round, two-time world champion Tyler Wright also bowed out of the competition.

Wright, currently third in the 2022 Women's Championship Tour (CT) standings, was forced to forfeit after testing positive for COVID-19.

This meant that Bronte Macaulay advanced through to heat 3 of the quarter-finals with a bye.

The fortunate progression for the Australian gives the chance to continue building on her form, after 5th and 3rd place finishes at Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and Margaret River Pro respectively. 

However, Macaulay will face stern test in the shape of current CT number one Brisa Hennessy in the final eight.

In the other two elimination round contests, two Americans had mixed fortunes in their efforts to reach the quarter-finals.

Gabriela Bryan was defeated by California native Lakey Peterson after the latter achieved a score of 6.83 on her sixth wave to settle an even battle. 

Courtney Conlogue, who came into the tour leg in good form after back-to-back semi-final appearances, was bested by Johanne Defay with final scores of 10.13 and 13.97 respectively.