ISU announces participants in the 2026/27 Grand Prix series: Olympic champions and a new generation head toward the final in Chongqing
The International Skating Union announced on June 16, 2026, the list of participants for the 2026/27 ISU Grand Prix series in figure skating, starting the countdown to one of the most important cycles in the season after the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina. According to the ISU announcement, approximately 150 skaters from around the world will compete across six stops, including reigning Olympic champions, world champions, major medal winners and new seniors entering the strongest part of the international calendar for the first time. The series will take place from October 23 to November 29, 2026, and the final is scheduled from December 10 to 13, 2026, in Chongqing, China. It is a competition that traditionally carries a double weight: it provides an early indicator of the balance of power in the season, while at the same time deciding the places in the Grand Prix Final. The ISU states that the best competitors in women’s and men’s singles, pairs and ice dance will collect points at their assigned events, and only the top six in each discipline will qualify for the final tournament.
Six stops on three continents
According to the calendar published by the International Skating Union, the 2026/27 Grand Prix series will open in Angers, France, where the Grand Prix de France will be held from October 23 to 25. After that comes Skate Canada International in Kelowna, from October 30 to November 1, while the third week takes the series to China, where Shenzhen will host the Cup of China from November 6 to 8. The ISU particularly emphasizes that Shenzhen will host this Grand Prix stop for the first time, giving the Chinese part of the calendar additional organizational importance before the December final in Chongqing. The fourth stop will be Skate America in Everett, in the U.S. state of Washington, from November 13 to 15, followed by the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki from November 20 to 22, while the regular part of the series will close with the NHK Trophy in Tokyo from November 27 to 29.
Such a schedule leaves skaters very little room for error. Each competitor or pair most often receives two stops, and placements from those appearances are converted into points for the overall Grand Prix standings. In its description of the series, the ISU states that the six most successful women, six men, six pairs and six ice dance teams qualify for the final. For that reason, the assignment schedule is almost as important as form itself: competitors must time their programs for a short period of several weeks, travel between continents and collect points against direct rivals. In the season that comes immediately after the Olympic one, the Grand Prix will also show who has maintained a top level, who is changing programs and technical content, and who is trying to use the transition period to break through among the leaders.
Olympic champions at the center of the women’s and men’s fields
In the women’s competition, the greatest attention is drawn by Alysa Liu of the United States, whom the ISU lists in its series preview as an Olympic champion and one of the main stars of the season. According to the published assignments, Liu is expected to compete at Skate America and the Finlandia Trophy, meaning that her path toward the final will lead through the American and European stops. The list also includes Mone Chiba of Japan, a two-time medalist at the World Championships according to the ISU preview, who is entered for the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy. Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone, whom the ISU presents as the reigning world bronze medalist, enters the series through the Grand Prix de France and Skate America, while Estonian skater Niina Petrokina, a two-time European champion according to the ISU announcement, is assigned to Skate Canada International and the Finlandia Trophy.
The women’s field is further strengthened by Amber Glenn of the United States, winner of the 2024 Grand Prix Final according to the ISU preview, and Haein Lee of South Korea, winner of the 2023 Four Continents Championships. Glenn is listed for Skate America and the NHK Trophy, while Lee is entered for the Cup of China and the Finlandia Trophy. The move of Japanese skater Mao Shimada, the reigning junior world champion according to the ISU announcement, into the senior Grand Prix environment is also being closely followed; her appearances are scheduled in Canada and Finland. Such a line-up confirms that the women’s competition will combine athletes who have already won the biggest titles with a generation that still has to prove its stability in the senior rhythm.
In the men’s competition, the ISU lists Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, the reigning Olympic champion, as one of the central names. According to the assignment list, Shaidorov is assigned to the Grand Prix de France and the Cup of China, which immediately places him in strong groups with European and Asian rivals. Ilia Malinin of the United States, a three-time world champion according to the ISU preview, will compete at Skate America and the NHK Trophy, and his programs traditionally attract attention because of their high technical value. Japanese skater Shun Sato, whom the ISU describes as an Olympic and world medalist, is entered for the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy. France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, a two-time European champion according to the ISU, will compete in front of the home crowd in Angers and then in Helsinki.
The men’s schedule also shows the breadth of competition beyond the narrowest circle of favorites. Junhwan Cha of South Korea, silver medalist at the 2026 Four Continents Championships according to the ISU preview, is on the lists for the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy. Kevin Aymoz of France and Jason Brown of the United States, whom the ISU highlights as especially popular with audiences, also have two assignments, and Rio Nakata of Japan, the reigning junior world champion according to the ISU announcement, is also entering the series. For younger skaters, the Grand Prix is an opportunity to compare themselves with proven medal winners, while for established stars it represents a test of endurance after the Olympic peak and the beginning of a new four-year cycle.
Pairs bring a continuation of major rivalries
In the pairs competition, the ISU announces an especially strong field, led by the German pair Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, the reigning world champions according to the official series preview. Their appearances are scheduled at Skate America and the NHK Trophy, meaning that they will fight for points in the final part of the regular schedule. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia, whom the ISU describes as Olympic and world silver medalists, are entered for the Grand Prix de France and the Cup of China. This means that the possible outcome in the pairs standings may begin to take shape already in the first three weeks of the series, before the German pair enters its two stops.
The lists also include Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov of the United States, whom the ISU lists as Four Continents champions, and the Canadian pair Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, world bronze medalists according to the official preview. Efimova and Mitrofanov are assigned to Skate Canada International and Skate America, while Pereira and Michaud are entered for the Canadian stop and the Finlandia Trophy. In the same part of the field are Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan and Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary, whom the ISU presents as rising pairs. In pairs, the start of the season is often particularly demanding because small changes in synchronization, throws and lifts can significantly affect the result, so the Grand Prix will show who has stabilized programs fastest after summer preparations.
The official lists also show that some places have not yet been finally filled. In several disciplines and at several stops, there are “TBD” designations, meaning that organizers and federations will later confirm individual home or open positions. This is not unusual for Grand Prix assignments, but in the season after the Olympic Games it may have additional importance because some athletes change plans, extend a break, move into a new age or partnership phase, or wait for confirmation of readiness. According to the available information, the published assignments represent the initial framework, while the final lists may change before the start of individual competitions.
Ice dance teams with Olympic champions and new challengers
In ice dance, the central place belongs to Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France, whom the ISU lists as 2026 Olympic and world champions. Their return to the Grand Prix series is planned through appearances at the Grand Prix de France and the Finlandia Trophy, giving the French stop in Angers additional sporting weight. In the same discipline, the ISU highlights Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik of the United States, world bronze medalists according to the series preview, who are entered for Skate America and the NHK Trophy. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain, multiple European medalists according to the ISU, will compete in Canada and China, while Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius of Lithuania are on the lists for France and Finland.
Ice dance in the Grand Prix often provides the clearest insight into how the season will develop because the rhythm dance and free dance require technical precision, convincing interpretation and continuity of the partnership performance at the same time. The ISU assignments show that the leading teams will meet several strong challengers already in the early phase. Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain are entered for the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy, while the American teams Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, Oona Brown and Gage Brown, and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons enter the schedule with ambitions for high placements. Alongside European teams from France, Czechia, Finland and Germany, the discipline will again have a distinctly international character, with competitors targeting both the Grand Prix Final and later continental and world appearances.
Schedule of the 2026/27 Grand Prix series
- Grand Prix de France, Angers, France: October 23–25, 2026.
- Skate Canada International, Kelowna, Canada: October 30 – November 1, 2026.
- Cup of China, Shenzhen, China: November 6–8, 2026.
- Skate America, Everett, United States: November 13–15, 2026.
- Finlandia Trophy, Helsinki, Finland: November 20–22, 2026.
- NHK Trophy, Tokyo, Japan: November 27–29, 2026.
- ISU Grand Prix Final, Chongqing, China: December 10–13, 2026.
Higher stakes after the decision to increase prize money
The sporting significance of the series this season is accompanied by a broader financial context. On June 10, 2026, the ISU announced that at the 60th Ordinary Congress in Tenerife, an increase in prize money for athletes and financial contributions to members had been approved. According to that announcement, total ISU prize money for all skating disciplines is expected to rise from 5.4 million U.S. dollars in the 2025/26 season to 11.1 million dollars in the 2026/27 season, and then to 12 million dollars in the 2027/28 season. The ISU linked that decision to its intention to return a larger part of the financial impact to athletes, federations and development programs. Although the announcement refers to the broader system of ISU competitions, it provides additional background to a Grand Prix season in which, alongside points and prestige, competitors will also fight for more concrete material incentives.
The 2026/27 Grand Prix will therefore be more than the usual autumn series of competitions. It will mark the beginning of a new period after the Olympic season, test the durability of the reigning champions’ dominance and offer a stage to skaters who have so far achieved bigger results in junior or continental competition. Only the most successful competitors from the six-week series will arrive in Chongqing in December, and the road to the final begins already in Angers, where the first performances will show how much the programs, technical plans and hierarchy in figure skating have changed after the Olympic peak.
Sources:
– International Skating Union – official announcement on the participants in the 2026/27 ISU Grand Prix series and key names by discipline (link)
– International Skating Union – official 2026/27 season calendar with Grand Prix series stops and the final in Chongqing (link)
– ISU Home of Skating – description of the ISU Grand Prix format and qualification path toward the final (link)
– ISU Home of Skating – official assignments for the women’s competition of the 2026/27 Grand Prix series (link)
– ISU Home of Skating – official assignments for the men’s competition of the 2026/27 Grand Prix series (link)
– ISU Home of Skating – official assignments for pairs in the 2026/27 Grand Prix series (link)
– ISU Home of Skating – official assignments for ice dance teams in the 2026/27 Grand Prix series (link)
– International Skating Union – announcement on increasing prize money for athletes and financial contributions to members from the 2026/27 season (link)