NHK Trophy, the fourth event of the 2025-2026 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, was held in Osaka, Japan, Nov. 7-8, 2025.
Men
2025 World bronze medalist Yuma Kagiyama, of Japan, kicked off his 2025-26 Grand Prix season by winning his third consecutive NHK Trophy title, edging out teammate Shun Sato by less than two points.
The leader after the short program, Kagiyama opened his “Turandot” free skate with a quadruple Salchow, but he then missed the quadruple toe-loop. Kagiyama recovered to land his quadruple toe-double toe combination, along with six triple jumps. He earned a free skate score of 188.66, which was second in the segment, but he managed to still claim the gold medal with a score of 287.24.
He now will compete at Finlandia Trophy in two weeks, hoping to qualify for his third Grand Prix Final.
In second after the short program, Sato had another outstanding “Firebird” free skate. He nailed a quadruple Lutz, two quadruple toes and five triple jumps. The 2024 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalist earned a new personal best free skate score of 189.04, which was the best free skate score of the men’s event. Despite winning the free skate segment, he still finished less than two points behind Kagiyama and claimed the silver medal with a total score of 285.71.
With his gold from the Cup of China and the silver from NHK Trophy, Sato advanced to the ISU Grand Prix Final. The ISU will confirm that at the end of the series.
Switzerland’s Lukas Britschgi stood in fifth place after tripling his planned quad toe in the short program. But in his “Journey through the Orient” free skate, the 2025 European Champion nailed two quad toes. He did have issues with two triple Axels, doubling the first one and stepping out of the second one. He earned a free skate score of 163.49, which was third in the free skate. He moved up to claim the bronze with a total score of 246.94. This is his second ISU Grand Prix medal. He won bronze, also in Osaka, in 2023.
Britschgi finished fourth at Grand Prix de France and has a total of 20 points.
China’s Boyang Jin had a season’s best free skate score of 155.13, which was fifth in the segment. He also had a season’s best score of 239.05 to finish fourth overall. He was fifth at Cup of China and finished the series with 16 points.
Korea’s Junwhan Cha, who was third after the short program, slipped to fifth overall (239.05) after finishing tenth in the free skate (138.66) with mistakes on most of his jumping passes. Two-time ISU World Junior bronze medalist Adam Hagara (SVK) moved up from ninth to sixth place in his senior Grand Prix debut (230.00).
Women
Three-time ISU World Champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won her second consecutive NHK gold medal in what is expected to be her final Grand Prix season. Sakamoto did it with the highest women’s free skate score of the season and won the event by 27 points.
The leader after the short program, the 2025 ISU World silver medalist, skating to the Edith Piaf classics “La vie en rose”, “Hymne à l’amour” and “Je ne regrette rien,” hit six clean triple jumps. She achieved a season’s best free skate score of 150.13 and a total score of 227.18 to win the event.
With gold and silver from her two events in Japan and France, Sakamoto has qualified for her fifth ISU Grand Prix Final.
Kazakhstan’s Sofia Samodelkina skated off with the silver in her ISU Grand Prix debut. In second after the short program, Samodelkina’s free skate to “Sunset Boulevard” included six triple jumps. She only had some issues with her second triple flip. She earned a free skate score of 132.25, which was third in the segment. Her total score of 200.00 was enough for her stay in second.
At this time of this posting, she does not have a second Grand Prix event, but does expect to compete at a Challenger Series event in either Tallinn and Zagreb.
In her first Grand Prix event since an ankle injury and surgery sidelined her last season, Loena Hendrickx of Belgium was fourth after the short program. Performing to “La Alegria” by Yasmin Levy, the two-time ISU World medalist produced five clean triple jumps. She finished second in the free skate with a score of 136.52, which was second in the free skate. Hendrickx moved up to third with a total score of 198.97.
Hendrickx will look to qualify for the Final at her second event Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki.
Korea’s Young You missed the podium by 0.15 points. She slipped from third place after the short program to finish in fourth place with a total score of 198.82. Despite not taking home a medal, this was You’s best finish at a Grand Prix event since competing at John Wilson Trophy in 2022. She was 9th at Grand Prix de France earlier this season.
Team USA’s Sarah Everhardt finished fifth with 186.89 points, with Yuka Aoki of Japan moving up from ninth after the short program to finish sixth overall with 183.31 points. Both Everhardt and Aoki competed at Skate Canada International the week prior.
Pairs
Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii came up from second place after the short program to take the title in Osaka. In their free skate to “Caruso,” the two-time ISU World bronze medalists nailed their side-by-side jumps, including a triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence. Their only mistake was when Conti fell on the throw triple loop. The Italian Champions earned a free skate score of 134.89 and a total score of 208.58 to move up from second to win their second ISU Grand Prix title.
With their second place finish at Cup of China, Conti and Macii have 28 points and have qualified for their fourth ISU Grand Prix Final. The two have spent the past three weeks in Asia and will return home to Italy for a few weeks before returning to Japan for the Final.
In third after the short program, Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko earned the silver medal in Osaka. In the free skate, they delivered a strong performance to “Without You” that included a throw triple flip and throw triple loop. They earned a season’s best score of 134.24 and a total score of 207.28 to pull up to second.
The two earned a bronze at Grand Prix de France and now have 24 points. They will need to wait until the conclusion of the remaining two Grand Prix events to see if they have qualified for the Final.
In just their second international competition since their return to competition, the 2022 Olympic Champions Weijing Sui and Cong Han of China were the leaders after the short program. In their “Tapestry of a Legendary Land,” Sui and Han received an under-rotation on their side-by-side triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence and also struggled with both their lifts. They earned a free skate score of 129.16, which was fourth in the segment. With a total score of 203.79, Sui and Han dropped to third overall and received the bronze medal.
With two bronze medals on the Grand Prix, Sui and Han have 22 points and will probably not qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final, but will need to see how the results pan out at the remaining two Grand Prix events.
In fourth after the short program, Japan’s Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi earned a personal best free skate score of 130.59, which was third in the free skate, but remained in fourth place with a total score of 202.11. They will compete at Finlandia Trophy in two weeks. 2025 U.S. Champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov finished fifth with 193.00 points. They also will compete in Finland.
Dance
Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson punched their ticket to the Grand Prix Final by winning gold at NHK Trophy. For a recap of the dance event, visit Ice-Dance.com.
