Grand Prix Series 2023/24: Uno and Sakamoto begin campaigns for third consecutive world titles
Japan’s Uno Shoma and Sakamoto Kaori are both seeking a three-peat this year. They’re set to feature on the six-stop Grand Prix Series, which culminates with December's final in Beijing.
Figure Skating
Two Japanese figure skaters have the chance to pull off respective three-peats this season as Uno Shoma and Sakamoto Kaori eye back-to-back-to-back world titles in singles.
While the season is set to culminate at the World Championships in Montreal (20-24 March 2024), it gets underway in full this month with the International Skating Union (ISU)’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, with six stops across October and November.
The top six performers in each discipline from those events will get an invite to the elite Grand Prix Final, this year held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, home of skating at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, in December.
Reigning pairs world champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, as well as 2023 ice dance winners Madison Chock and Evan Bates, also eye another world title.
Chock/Bates will kick off the Grand Prix at Skate America (20-22 October), in the Dallas area, where they’ll be joined by U.S. singles champions Ilia Malinin and Isabeau Levito as well as European standouts Kevin Aymoz and Loena Hendrickx.
The Grand Prix will follow in the subsequent weeks, with stops in Canada, People's Republic of China, France, Finland and Japan prior to the Final.
See the stories to watch, a full Grand Prix schedule, find out who is skating where – and how you can tune into the action.
Figure skating Grand Prix: 3 things to watch
Men’s singles: Can Uno go three in a row?
The 25-year-old’s immediate goal is to be “completely satisfied,” he told Japanese reporters, regarding his programs’ output (and artistry). This season, he’ll see challenges from reigning world medallists Cha Junhwan and Malinin (who's also looking to level up his content output), while a host of young Japanese men continue to push into the fold, including Miura Kao and Sato Shun.
Also to watch: Can Jason Brown take his 2022-23 approach of minimal competitions and excel with it again? We’ll find out.
Women’s singles: Sakamoto “aims for a three-peat”
There is no parsing words for the 23-year-old Sakamoto: She wants both a third consecutive Japanese and world title this year, and will be favoured for each as other top skaters look for consistency. Lee Haein and Hendrickx will lead that charge, which also includes youngsters Levito and Kimmy Repond as well as a collection of Japanese women, too, namely veteran Mihara Mai and the big-jumping Watanabe Rinka.
Pairs & dance: World champs reign
Miura/Kihara will not have 2022 world champs and reigning silver medallist Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier to contend with this season, the Americans option out of competition. That should set the Japanese up for back-to-back titles, though their season has gotten off to a rocky start: The duo struggled in their opening competition before withdrawing from Skate America due to a lower back issue for Kihara.
Chock/Bates lead a pack of Montreal-based teams once again, with Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri as well as Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, eyeing the podium again, too.
Grand Prix Series 2023/24: Full schedule
The ISU's Grand Prix Series are the six biggest events of the first half of the figure skating season, with the Grand Prix Final serving as its culmination.
Skate America - Allen, TX (USA), 20-22 October
Skate Canada International - Vancouver (CAN), 27-29 October
Grand Prix de France - Angers (FRA), 3-5 November
Cup of China - Chongqing (CHN), 10-12 November
Grand Prix Espoo - Espoo (FIN), 17-19 November
NHK Trophy - Osaka (JPN), 24-26 November
Grand Prix Final - Beijing (CHN), 7-10 December
Grand Prix Series: Featured athletes list
The figure skating season marks a halfway march towards Milano Cortina 2026, the coming Olympic Winter Games. The season will break for domestic championships in December and January, then culminate at the World Championships in late March.
Skate America - featured athletes:
Malinin; Aymoz, Hendrickx; Levito; Miura/Kihara; Chock/Bates;
Skate Canada
Cha; Miura; Sakamoto; Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps; Gilles/Poirier; Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson
Grand Prix de France
Malinin; Adam Siao Him Fa; Kagiyama Yuma; Lee; Levito; Anastasiia Gubanova; Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii; Guignard/Fabbri; Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen
Cup of China
Uno; Siao Him Fa; Hendrickx; Mihara; Kim Yelim; Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps; Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe; Gilles/Poirier
Grand Prix of Espoo
Cha; Aymoz; Miura; Matteo Rizzo; Sakamoto; Repond; Conti/Macii; Chock/Bates
NHK Trophy
Uno; Kagiyama; Lee; Mihara; Gubanova; Miura/Kihara; Guignard/Fabbri; Fear/Gibson
Grand Prix Seriers: How to watch
The ISU provides a where to watch information page for its events here.
American fans can watch on NBC and its subsequent platforms, including streaming on Peacock and more coverage on E! and USA.