It’s finally Sal’s time to shine

Sally Fitzgibbons is believed to be dating St George Illawarra rugby league player Trent Merrin. Source: Supplied

SURFING star Sally Fitzgibbons will carry a busted hand and a mended heart into this weekend's season-opening Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast.

The world No. 3 broke two fingers on her left hand in a run-in with a jet ski during a surfing session last month and has been racing the clock in a bid to be fit for the Roxy, which kicks off an expanded 10-leg world tour.

The perennial world title bridesmaid is putting the heartbreak of near misses behind her with the support of a new boyfriend, believed to be St George Illawarra rugby league player Trent Merrin.

Fitzgibbons had her hand in a cast for a few weeks before having a splint shaped to mould around her hand.

She will shed the splint for the Pro, instead competing with her hand heavily strapped.

Speaking on the Gold Coast on Wednesday, she said her preparation had been far from ideal in a year when she finally hopes to stamp her mark on the women's tour.

"It's been a really fiddly one, so it's been pretty frustrating," she said.

"I've been surfing with a splint for the last couple of weeks, but it's been pretty tricky."

It is another setback for the perpetually bubbly Fitzgibbons, who was widely tipped for the world title last year only to finish third, putting a dampener on her documentary Sally: Behind the Smile, which has just been released.

"A crew followed me around last year and it would have been great to have had them there to capture me winning the world title, but it wasn't to be," she said.

The Illawarra 23-year-old, who has three times finished second in the world title race before last year's third, said she was drawing inspiration from the late-blooming Joel Parkinson in her title quest.

Parkinson endured four runner-up finishes before finally nailing his first world title two years ago at 31.

"You look at guys like Parko (Parkinson), who are just like gladiators the way they keep coming back,'' she said.

"You're pretty heartbroken when you get runner-up but you can draw inspiration from those guys.''

A broken heart is not something affecting Fitzgibbons, who remained coy about her new beau's identity, although she said he was "not really into surfing''.

"That's kind of refreshing because it puts everything into perspective," she said.

"We grew up in the same area. It's often hard to keep something going when you are away so much, but so far it's pretty good.''

Sally: Behind the Smile, 5.30pm Sunday on GO

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