Frames: Wright Chases Title

Wright, who moved from New South Wales to the Gold Coast, Queensland, tucked into a tight tube at Snapper Rocks.

Wright's barrel skills were solid at Snapper but she ultimately came up short.

At the next event of the year, the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, Wright had a slow start but began to find her rhythm in Round 3, where she scored her first nine-point ride of the season.

Wright routed Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in the Margaret River Semifinals.

Wright lost to reigning World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) but earned 8,000 toward her overall score for a runner-up finish.

At the Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach, the women's third event, Wright earned her second nine-point ride of the season.

She tore through the contest at Bells, earning her third nine-pointer of the year during the Semifinal.

Feeling good, Wright brought her much-adored warmup routine to Bells Beach.

Despite her rhythm (and her dance routine), Wright fell to Moore again in the Bells Beach Final. Following the first three events of the year, she left Australia with an equal-fifth and two runner-up finishes.

In May, Wright made her fourth Quarterfinal in four consecutive events at the Rio Women's Pro.

She scored a 9.10 in the Quarters to advance but faltered against Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in the Semis and finished equal third.

At the women's first-ever WCT event at Cloudbreak, the Fiji Women's Pro, Wright was fearless. Yet she finished with her lowest result this season (as of event No. 9) -- an equal ninth.

Coming off the disappointing outing in Fiji, Wright stormed into the Vans US Open of Surfing in July, managing to take to the air even in small conditions.

Wright found herself at the bottom of the pack in Round 3 but defeated fellow Aussie Laura Enever in Round 4 to make the Quarters.

On her first wave in Round 4, Wright went big to earn a 9.00.

Wright would ride her momentum all the way to the top of the US Open podium, for her first event win of the season.

Having established herself as a contender for the 2014 World Title, Wright began the backend of the year with confidence, starting with the Swatch Women's Pro Trestles.

Wright finished equal fifth in the first-ever elite women's event at the high-performance break in San Clemente, California.

She went on to dominate in Europe, starting with the Roxy Pro France.

Wright was able to find some tube time in the tight barrels of Hossegor.

She was on a tear there through the very end of the contest. Wright tallied a total of five nine-point rides in France, four of which she scored in the Final.

Wright's win in France created a two-event-win season tie among herself, Carissa Moore (HAW), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS).

Hot off her victory in France, Wright scored the first nine-point ride of the Cascais Women's Pro, a 9.43.

She lost her Round 3 heat in Portugal, which sent her to a sudden-death heat in Round 4. But Wright was able to defeat Pauline Ado (FRA) and Johanne Defay (FRA) and advance to the next round.