After the first run, Robinson was ranked seventh, sitting just 0.9sec behind the leader, Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland).
Robinson had a good high line through the steeper section of the course but one small error put her in the back seat, costing precious time.
With the start order of the top-30 racers flipped for run two, Robinson was the 24th skier through the start gate.
She came out of gate and attacked the course right from the top.
She battled her way down the course, giving it her all, but unfortunately a couple of small errors cost her time in a sport where every split-second counts.
American ski racing powerhouse Mikaela Shiffrin claimed the title, ahead of Gut-Behrami (Switzerland) and Petra Vlhova (Slovakia).
‘‘You have to really attack this hill,’’ Shiffrin said.
‘‘I have learnt that the hard way and I’ve also learnt it the good way, and today was a good one.”
Wanaka skier Piera Hudson had her debut and finished in 58th position.
The traditional season opener on the Rettenbach Glacier in Soelden attracts the world’s best racers.
Robinson made history in 2019 at this race when, at the age of 17, she won New Zealand’s first giant slalom gold medal, and first alpine world cup gold medal in any discipline since 1997.
