Defending champion Tyler Wright has survived the elimination round at Bells Beach but suffered an injury while nailing the win.
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Surfing resumed at the famed Victorian break on Sunday after two lay days, with four-time Bells champion Kelly Slater among elimination round two victors in the challenging conditions.
But 2022 runner-up, Queenslander Callum Robson, was an early casualty in the men's event.
Wright, who made a first-round exit at the last World Surf League stop in Portugal, only surfed two waves but did enough to advance along with Tatiana Weston-Webb, with France's Johanne Defay bowing out.
The two-time world champion waited 17 minutes to catch her first wave, but it was worth it as she posted a heat-high score of 7.67.
She then rode her second wave in but slammed on the shore break and surfaced holding her ribs.
"I've got a lot of adrenaline right now but yeah, it hurts," Wright said.
"I didn't really do too much (on the wave) so I had to convert the ending which was on the shore.
"I came down a little bit funky on it and it's a little bit of a rib thing ...but I'm not too worried about it and it should be fine."
World No.7 Robson was in the first heat in the water, looking to improve on last year's impressive finish.
The 22-year-old, who made the semi-finals in Portugal, struggled to find high-scoring waves.
Fellow Australian Liam O'Brien was a clear winner with a two-wave total of 15.17, while Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau (9.16) also advanced ahead of Robson (8.07).
Slater, whose first win at the Rip Curl Pro came back in 1996 and last in 2010, lined up against another local hope Connor O'Leary and Carlos Munoz from Costa Rica.
In a tight battle, Slater scored 12.00 to triumph while O'Leary edged Munoz by just 0.34, with the latter's last wave score falling just short.
American Slater, an 11-time world champion, needs a good result at Bells to move above the mid-season cut line, with the men's field reduced to the top 24 after the next competition at Margaret River.
The 51-year-old, who has competed in almost 100 heats at Bells, said he had to click into gear after taking a break from training on Saturday and getting his board fixed.
"I took the day off and just relaxed, it was real messy and there wasn't much energy in the swell," he said.
"I actually thought there was a chance we wouldn't run today ... I didn't stress on it too much and I got up early this morning and saw it was probably on.
"I've got to win some heats here to keep myself on the tour but I've spent my time just being appreciative, there's a lot of memories here for me."
Australian Associated Press
