Grand Prix France opens new Olympic cycle with reshaped figure skating field

The figure skating season begins with the Grand Prix circuit in France this week, ushering in a new Olympic cycle with a reshaped field following a wave of post-Milano Cortina Games retirements and breaks from competition.

Some ‌of the biggest names are back, while others have retired or opted to sit out the season, creating opportunities for a new crop of contenders.

The six-event circuit opens with the Grand Prix de France in Angers this weekend before stops in Canada, China, United States, Finland and Japan, with the top six skaters or couples in each discipline qualifying for ​December's Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China.

Eight months after the Milano-Cortina ​Games, however, the competitive landscape already looks different.

Olympic women's champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. will sit out the season, while Olympic silver medallist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan has retired from competition.

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That removes the top two ​from this year's Games, where Liu won gold ahead of Sakamoto and Japanese teenager Ami Nakai.

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The men's competition has also lost ⁠one of its Olympic headliners for the season.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, silver ‌medallist in Milan and runner-up at the 2026 world championships, announced in April he would take the competitive season off to rediscover his enjoyment of skating and pursue new challenges.

American Ilia Malinin, who bounced back from a disastrous eighth-place finish at the Games to win his third world title, is back, along with Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan.

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