Last week at Grand Prix de France, one of the big storylines was how skaters within individual countries stacked up against each other. Cup of China will be no different, and in the women’s event, there will be domestic battles within Japan, South Korea, the U.S, and the home country, China. Oh, and it also includes reigning World champion, Alysa Liu, who is here looking for her very first Grand Prix medal.
2025 Cup of China predictions
Official hashtags: #中国杯花样滑冰大奖赛# #2025GPCHN #GPFigure
GOLD Amber Glenn USA - Last season, the Glennaissance took Amber Glenn to an undefeated Grand Prix series, including a win at the Final over five Japanese women. And though she couldn’t convert all of that momentum into a World medal, her season was transformational for her, and she’s come into this season strongly as well. She comes in after winning Nebelhorn Trophy and putting down two strong programs there. Cup of China last season was the site of her biggest international score of her career, and she will be looking to defend the title this week.
SILVER Anastasiia Gubanova GEO - Gubanova has been on fire early this season, hitting 200+ performances in her two competitions, including at the Olympic Qualifying Event, where she secured herself a spot in Milano. She’s skating freer this season, and she will be looking for her first Grand Prix medal since 2022.
BRONZE Alysa Liu USA - The reigning World champion comes into this competition—and still shockingly—without ever winning a Grand Prix medal in her four appearances on the GP. She was fourth at Lombardia Trophy earlier this season. She has since gone back to her short program from last season and has likely used the past month to work on refining that free skate. I don’t think she’s quite there yet to be the favorite to win here, but as we saw from last season, you never know!
4. Rino Matsuike JPN - It can be frustrating to see the ethereal quality of Matsuike’s skating combined with the sometimes-inconsistent nature of her jumps. Last season, she stunned in the Grand Prix, particularly with her dazzling free skates that took her all the way to the Grand Prix Final. And while she hasn’t been quite as strong this season yet, she does come in on the heels of a very strong skate at Regionals in mid-September.
5. Jia Shin KOR - In back-to-back Grand Prix events, Shin did not have the magic last week that propelled her to bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy in late September. The edge jumps abandoned her in the free skate and she had jump consistency issues throughout the competition in Angers last week. But we know she’s got the potential, and this is a new week for her to reset.
6. Anna Pezzetta ITA - Second at Nepela Memorial behind teammate Lara Naki Gutmann, Pezzetta is looking at this competition as a way for her to make a splash and keep herself in the conversation for Italy’s one women’s spot at the Olympics. At her best, she can be in the 190-200 range, but she has a tendency to pop jumps in the free skate.
7. Haein Lee KOR - Underrotations have been a big problem for Lee this season, and that’s plagued her in all three of her international events this season. She won Denis Ten Memorial and got third at Trialeti Trophy. Her head-to-head with teammate Jia Shin here will be one of the stories to watch.
8. Rinka Watanabe JPN - Watanabe has competed a lot already this season, with four domestic events and two Challenger events since July. It’s been with varying success, though, with her best showing being at Kinoshita Group Cup. And though she has been very much set on landing those triple axels in competition, the inconsistency of her other jumps haven’t helped.
9. Ruiyang Zhang CHN - Her fifth-place finish at the Olympic Qualifying Event in September secured China its one spot in the women’s event for Milano, and she’s been the strongest of the three Chinese women over the past few seasons. China has announced that scores here and at Chinese Nationals will be the decider for the Olympic berths; and another strong performance here will give her a big advantage.
10. Hana Yoshida JPN - It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Yoshida, who had proven to be a consistent competitor over the past few seasons. She has not put together a clean short yet this season, and her free skates have not been up to her standards. At her best, she’s a podium contender here, so let’s hope she can rediscover the magic that took her to two consecutive Grand Prix Finals.
11. Yi Zhu CHN - Fifth at Denis Ten Memorial, Zhu has been skating solidly this season so far, having gotten back some of the consistency from earlier in her career.
12. Xiangyi An CHN - 27th at Worlds last season, An is the only one in this field to not have competed internationally yet this season. Her biggest gauntlet is jump rotation, and it will be even more important given that her technical content is not as strong as others here.