The pairs field at the 2025 Grand Prix Final this week is really the who’s-who of podium contenders for the Olympics in two months. With the exception of Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (who were the first alternates), you’ve got pairs here who have been at the top of the pairs field during this Olympic cycle—and that includes every still active (i.e., not retired) pair that has won a World medal since the last Olympics. How they match up against each other this week will be a sign of what’s to come in Milano in two months.
2025 Grand Prix Final predicitons
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GOLD Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara JPN - Perhaps the only pair here who looks to be a clear lock (if I could even use that word) for a podium spot, Miura/Kihara has been the least volatile of the six pairs here. They won both of their Grand Prix events and have generally been putting down consistent skates over their four competitions. It’s been three years since their last Grand Prix Final title, and the two-time World champs are looking to make a statement among this field going into the Olympics.
SILVER Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin GER - It was a win for them at Finlandia Trophy two weeks ago, but it was not the performances they had hoped for, particularly with a death spiral that went nowhere in the short program. One of their big assets has been their consistency, which has left them a bit during the Grand Prix, and it will be important for them to be solid on their elements again here, especially among this field.
BRONZE Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps CAN - Bronze medalists here two years ago, Stellato/Deschamps have been on and off in their consistency this season, but they have brought some of their best material to play for the Olympic season. Their free skate at Skate Canada has been the highlight, and they will need to replicate that to get themselves on the podium here. The timing on their side-by-sides has been the main challenge for them, if they’ve gotten those kinks out, it would be a big boost for them.
4. Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava GEO - The question is never whether they can do it, but after a few instances where they have tightened up in big-occasion moments, you wonder if this pattern is becoming an epidemic for them. The big competitions date back to Junior Worlds and Worlds in 2024 and continued to Europeans last season, and most recently, just three weeks ago at Skate America, where they had a win over Miura/Kihara in sight and faltered multiple times in the free skate. Let’s hope that was a blip.
5. Sara Conti/Niccolo Macci ITA - The World bronze medalists have had a solid season, but their programs have been plagued by minor errors that add up to a lot of points left on the table. Cleaning that up will be crucial for them as they look to grab their third Grand Prix Final medal in four years.
6. Maria Pavlova/Alexei Sviatchenko HUN - This could very well be dark horse territory for Pavlova/Sviatchenko. They are coming in, on paper, the least decorated among all the pairs. But they have improved in many aspects of their skating this season, and even more importantly, they have the most solid elements in competition of the six pairs here.