We are halfway through the 2025-2026 Grand Prix Series with three events completed and three left to go. This week, the series heads to Osaka, Japan for NHK Trophy, Nov. 7-9. NHK Trophy debuted in 1979 and when the ISU launched the Grand Prix series in 1995, the NHK Trophy was one of the five qualifying events. It has been a Grand Prix event every year since.
Men
Though we are midway through the series, NHK Trophy will mark the start of Yuma Kagiyama’s Grand Prix season. The four-time World medalist had won medals at the last two Grand Prix Finals, bronze in 2023 and silver in 2024. Kagiyama has only competed internationally once this season. He won the silver medal at Lombardia Trophy. His teammate Shun Sato has already won a Grand Prix event this season. He took home his second-straight gold medal at Cup of China. Sato looks to qualify for his second-straight Grand Prix Final. He won the bronze at the Final last season. Also competing in front of a home crowd is Haru Kakiuchi, who is making his senior Grand Prix debut.
Also kicking off his Grand Prix season is Italy’s Matteo Rizzo. Rizzo has not medaled on the Grand Prix since 2019. This season, he took home a silver medal at Nepela Memorial, finished 11th at Lombardia Trophy, but recently won gold at the Swiss Ice Skating Open. He will be joined by teammate Gabrielle Frangipani, who finished 12th at Grand Prix de France.
Switzerland’s Lukas Britschgi is looking to capture a spot on the podium after just missing the podium at Grand Prix de France. France’s Francois Pitot, who finished just behind Britschgi in fifth place at his home Grand Prix event, is also looking for a strong finish in Japan. Another skater who was close to a podium finish at his home Grand Prix event was China’s Boyang Jin, who was fifth at Cup of China two weeks ago.
Looking to improve on his skates from China is Korea’s Junhwan Cha, who was eighth at Cup of China. Team USA’s Andrew Torgashev will also look to finish better than his sixth place finish at Grand Prix de France. His teammate, Jimmy Ma, will kick off his Grand Prix season in Japan. The 2025 Four Continents bronze medalist was 10th at Kinoshita Group Cup and seventh at Cranberry Cup. This is Ma’s first Grand Prix since 2023.
Slovakia’s Adam Hagara also competes in France. This is his Grand Prix debut.
Event Info: The men’s short program will take place Friday, Nov. 7 at 4:15 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 2:15 a.m. eastern. The men’s free skate will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4:35 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 2:35 a.m. eastern.
Women
After missing last season to have surgery to repair her ankle, Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx is back. She competed this fall at the Skate to Milano Olympic Qualifier, where she finished in third place and earned a second spot for the Belgium women at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
Hendrickx will face three-time World champion Kaori Sakamoto, who took home the silver medal at Grand Prix de France. Sakamoto is looking to qualify for her fourth straight Grand Prix Final. She will be joined by teammates Wakaba Higuchi and Yuna Aoki. For Higuchi, this is her first Grand Prix event of the season. Last season, she qualified for the Final by winning Skate America and earning silver at Grand Prix de France. She finished fourth at the Final. This season, Higuchi only competed at Kinoshita Group Cup, where she finished 11th. Unlike Higuchi, Aoki heads to Japan after finishing in sixth place last week at Skate Canada International.
Aoki isn’t the only one with back-to-back Grand Prix events. Korea’s Ahsun Yun also competed last week in Saskatoon and finished in 10th place. Team USA’s Sarah Everhardt was 7th at Skate Canada.
Yun’s teammate, Young You, is competing in her second Grand Prix event of the season. She finished ninth in France. Everhardt’s teammate, Elyce Lin-Gracey also competed in France. She finished just ahead of You in eighth place. Switzerland’s Livia Kaiser was also in France and finished in 12th place. She recenly competed at the Swiss Open and finished in sixth place.
Making their Grand Prix debut are Canada’s Katherine Medland Spence and Sofia Samodelkina, of Kazakhstan.
Event Info: The women’s short program will take place Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 5 a.m. eastern. The women’s free skate will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 5:30 a.m. eastern.
Pairs
2022 Olympic Champions Weijing Sui and Cong Han of China are back in action at their second Grand Prix event in their return to competition. The team finished third in China and are looking to improve on their skates from that event. They will once again compete against the 2025 World bronze medalists Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii, who finished ahead of them in China.
Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary are looking for their second Grand Prix medal of the season. They took home the bronze medal at Grand Prix de France. Looking to improve on their sixth place finish at Grand Prix de France is Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev. The team was fourth at the Skate to Milano Olympic Qualifier.
Four teams are competing in their first Grand Prix event of the season. 2025 U.S. Champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov finished third at Skate America and fourth at Grand Prix de France last season. They won silver at John Nicks Pairs Challenge and bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy this season. Their teammates and training mates, Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe had two fifth place finishes at their Grand Prix events last season. This season, they were fourth at John Nicks Pairs Challenge and third at Trialeti Trophy.
Competing in their home Grand Prix event is Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi, who finished third at the Skate to Milano Olympic Qualifier and earned a pairs spot for Japan for the Milano Cortina Olympics. Last season, they finished sixth at Finlandia Trophy and seventh at NHK Trophy.
Daria Danilova and Michel Tsiba of the Netherlands finished 5th at NHK Trophy last season. This season, they finished fifth at the Kinoshita Group Cup and 12th at Nebelhorn Trophy.
Event Info: The pairs’ short program will take place Friday, Nov. 7 at 2:35 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 12:35 a.m. eastern. The pairs’ free dance will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 12 a.m. eastern.
Dance
For a preview of the dance event, visit Ice-Dance.com.
Event Info: The rhythm dance will take place Friday, Nov. 7 at 12:35 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 10:35 p.m. eastern (Nov. 6). The free dance will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at 12 p.m. Japan Standard Time / 10 p.m. eastern (Nov. 7).
