Five without a minus: Russian figure skaters will compete for medals at the Chinese Grand Prix

From November 6 to 8, the third stage of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating will be held in Shenzhen, China, with the strongest Russian team in the current series. Alexandra Trusova, Vladislav Dikidzhi, Evgeny Semenenko, Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov will perform in neutral status. Trusova is preparing the quadruple jumps, Dikidzhi and Semenenko will challenge the Olympic champion, and Mishina and Gallyamov will try to take revenge on the Georgian duo. All five of them have a chance to reach the finals of the series, but for this they need to score maximum points.

From the reserve to the main application

In early autumn, the Russian representation at the Chinese Grand Prix looked much more modest. The ISU formed the initial international series squads in June, before deciding on the return of Russian figure skaters. Therefore, our athletes could not count on the usual distribution of places based on athletic achievements.

Moreover, at the end of August, the ISU clarified the selection rules: even to be included in the reserve list, Russians had to compete in international competitions under the auspices of the organization and meet the established scoring standards. The neutral status of the invitation was not guaranteed by itself. As a result, the champions had to make their way to the Grand Prix through the Challenger series tournaments, and then wait for the seats to be vacated after the refusals of other participants.

Fortunately, the application for Shenzhen has gradually changed almost beyond recognition. After the September victory in Tokyo, Dikiji received an invitation. In mid-October, Trusova and Semenenko were added to it, and on October 22, Mishina and Gallyamov took the place among the sports pairs.

The Chinese stage has a serious advantage over the competitions in Europe and North America. While Russian athletes have to take into account the complexity and timing of visa processing, China allows Russian citizens visa-free entry for 30 days, including for participation in sporting events. This regime has been extended until the end of 2027.

The difference has already been shown in practice. Semenenko was unable to participate in the Canadian Grand Prix due to visa problems, although he received an invitation. The St. Petersburg figure skater has a visa to Finland.

"Russian rocket" against Japanese women

The main character of the women's tournament is 22—year-old Trusova. After the birth of her son Mikhail in August 2025, Alexandra returned to full-fledged training in the Eteri Tutberidze group, and in the fall she began performing at international competitions again. In September, the Russian won silver at the Challenger in Tokyo, and in October she won the Denis Ten Alma Ata Memorial with a score of 226.01 points.

However, the fans are not only interested in the place in the final table. The question is how many quadruple jumps will the figure skater, who in her heyday was nicknamed the Russian Rocket, decide to perform.

— We tried to skate with two fours — let's see what happens in China and America. I don't know yet," Trusova said in a video for Channel One.

At the first two international autumn starts, Alexandra was limited to one quadruple jump in the free program. Complicating the application can change the balance in the fight for gold, but it also increases the risk of mistakes. After a long break, the athlete must simultaneously regain the technical complexity and stability of the two programs.

Competition in Shenzhen is expected to be serious. The main rival of the Russian looks like Japanese figure skater, silver medalist of the 2026 World Championships Monet Chiba. Anastasia Gubanova, the 2023 European champion representing Georgia, who finished second at the French Grand Prix two weeks ago, and Italian Lara Naki Gutmann are also competing on the podium. Japanese Rinka Watanabe and Korean Lee Hae-in pose an additional danger. According to the layouts and estimates of the best scores, Trusova should beat them all.

At the same time, Trusov's return to the Grand Prix combines with family life. The Olympic medalist went to China with her young son. In a week she will have her next start — Skate America in American Everett.

— It's absolutely not difficult to fly with him, but all the suitcases, strollers, bags — all this, of course, will be difficult. But I really miss international startups," Trusova shared on social media.

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For men, Russian hopes are primarily associated with Dikiji. In October, Oleg Tataurov's student won the Denis Ten Memorial with an impressive total of 312.79 points. In the free program, Vladislav performed four fours — lutz, flip and two salchows. Then the Petersburger won the home stage of the Russian Grand Prix, ahead of Olympian Peter Gumennik: 297.67 against 293.99 points.

Not everything went perfectly. At the competition in St. Petersburg, Dikigi made a mistake in the quadruple salchow cascade and missed the triple axel. With a busy calendar, the question remains how well the skater will cope with the accumulated workload. At the same time, on October 27, Vladislav showed a quadruple axel in training, although he did not announce the inclusion of the jump in the competition program.

— It doesn't matter to me everywhere who is competing in the tournament, it's important to roll back the program for yourself. I'm not interested in the place, but in the rental, how I feel," Dikigi told the Championship.

And the opponents are really powerful. The 2026 Olympic champion from Kazakhstan, Mikhail Shaidorov, who unexpectedly failed at the first stage of the series in France and took only tenth place, will perform in Shenzhen. This defeat, in fact, has already deprived the Kazakhstani of a chance at the current Grand Prix final, but in China he still has the opportunity to win the first stage of the international series in his career.

Another favorite is the bronze medalist of the 2026 Olympics, Shun Sato, who won the Cup of China twice in a row. Dikiji already has a successful wrestling experience with him: at the September tournament in Tokyo, the Russian took gold, leaving the Japanese second. Do not forget about another representative of Japan, Kao Miura, who won the silver medal at the French Grand Prix.

Semenenko also has enough reasons to expect a medal. Alexey Mishin's student won the September Challenger in Bratislava with a score of 292.09 points, and on October 18 he won the Russian Grand Prix in Kazan with a score of 296.13. In the free program, Evgeny performed four quadruple jumps. If both Petersburgers can handle the technically demanding box office, viewers may well see two Russians on the same podium. The fight will be intense and unpredictable.

Revenge for Mishina and Gallyamov

In pair skating, the poster is obvious. World champions Mishina and Gallyamov will face Georgia's 2026 Olympic silver medalists Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava.

In early October, at the Challenger in Batumi, the Georgian duo won with a score of 215.83 points, while the Russians came in second with 206.31. Later, Metelkina and Berulava won the French Grand Prix, where they beat another Russian couple, Alexandra Boikova and Dmitry Kozlovsky. The rating earned in the absence of the Russians is still working for them.

Mishina and Gallyamov won the home stage of the Russian Grand Prix in St. Petersburg after Batumi, scoring 212.78 points. The victory was not easy: Ekaterina Chikmareva and Matvey Yanchenkov lost to them by only 1.25 points. Tamara Moskvina's students will have to add, first of all, in the quality of performing elements.

At the beginning of the season, the guys looked a bit heavy – and the season itself started later for them due to delays in obtaining neutral status. Now we need to catch up, although the second place will be enough to qualify for the finals — if, of course, the goal is to qualify for it, and not to win.

Mishina and Gallyamov are also invited to the Finnish Grand Prix on November 20-22, where Boikova and Kozlovsky, Chikmareva and Yanchenkov will be among their rivals. The final, which will be held on December 10-13 in Chongqing, China, will select the six best participants or duets in each form.