The international figure skating circuit kicks off a decisive Olympic season this week with the opening of the ISU Grand Prix 2025/26, the official build-up to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The competition brings together the sport’s biggest names — Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates — all seeking to fine-tune their form in a calendar packed with rivalries, comebacks, and high-level performances.

The Grand Prix de France, held from October 17–19 in Angers, opens the six-event series organized by the International Skating Union (ISU). The event forms part of the institutional “Skate to Milano” campaign, which links the competitive season directly with the upcoming Olympic Games.

Six stops and a Grand Final in Nagoya

The Grand Prix route features: the Cup of China in Chongqing (October 24–26), Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (October 31–November 2), NHK Trophy in Osaka (November 7–9), Skate America in Lake Placid (November 14–16), and the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (November 21–23). The ISU Grand Prix Final will take place in Nagoya, Japan, from December 4–7, where the top performers in each discipline will compete for the title.

In total, the ISU has invited 44 men, 45 women, 28 pairs and 36 ice dance teams from 24 countries. Each event awards points and prize money to the highest-scoring athletes, all aiming to secure a coveted place in the Nagoya Final.

Star power and long-awaited returns

Among this season’s standout names are Malinin, a two-time World Champion; Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time World Champion; and Alysa Liu of the USA, who made a spectacular comeback in 2025 by winning the World title after returning from retirement. The Grand Prix de France will also feature Miura/Kihara and Guignard/Fabbri, while the Cup of China marks the highly anticipated return of Olympic Champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, back on the ice after three seasons away.

The circuit continues through Canada, Japan, the United States and Finland, with stars such as Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, and Yuma Kagiyama, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist. The Finnish stage will close the qualification phase before the Grand Final in Nagoya, where the top eight in each category are expected to face off.

Skaters will collect ranking points at each event — 15 for first place, 13 for second, and 11 for third — to determine qualification for the Final. Each Grand Prix event offers a total prize purse of 180,000 USD, including 18,000 USD for individual winners.