Even without World silver medalist Elizabet Tursynbaeva out while she continues to recover from her off-season injury, the ladies’ field at Skate America this week will still be jam-packed with talent. It is also going to be jam-packed with uncertainly, because we have six skaters who have at least one previous Grand Prix medal, and one skater making her senior Grand Prix debut who could win it all.
Skate America predictions
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GOLD Anna Shcherbakova RUS - The Russian champ started her season right, and expectedly, with a win at Lombardia Trophy - and that win was over Tuktamysheva. She has a lot to offer, including strong musicality and a quad lutz. The question here will be how she fares in the quad-less short program against the others in this field, and whether she will have to make up ground in the free. But signs point in the direction of a gold medal for her senior Grand Prix debut.
SILVER Elizaveta Tuktamysheva RUS - She continues to push herself technically, adding a second triple axel to her free skate. We saw it at Finlandia Trophy just last week, where her axel looks as easy as it’s ever looked for her. With the likes of Shcherbakova on the scene this season, it will be crucial for Tuktamysheva to prove herself on the international scene early, often, and consistently. Where she can fall behind some of her peers here in components she can make up in the technical department.
BRONZE Kaori Sakamoto JPN - You wonder how much Sakamoto is still reeling from a few of the near-misses she had in competition last season. At both Four Continents and Worlds, she was in contention but a mistake in the free skate away from the podium. We all know she’s a powerful and flowing presence on the ice. She was second here the past two years, and she’s coming off of a second-place finish at Ondrej Nepela, where she had to dig out of a subpar short program to get there.
4. Eunsoo Lim KOR - Bronze at Autumn Classic and Shanghai Trophy, Lim has put out some good skating so far this season. But as she is adjusting to coaching changes, she’s also been adjusting her jump technique, which has kept her from being as consistent as we’ve seen in the past. At her best, she’s very much a podium contender, and her two programs this season - particularly the short - are steps forward for her musicality.
5. Bradie Tennell USA - An off-season injury delayed her season debut a few weeks, as she skipped Autumn Classic in September. But her debut at Japan Open was promising - not only in the technical side but also in the artistic side. Her free skate shows the work she’s put in to become a more complete skater, and that will help her progress this season. The thing to watch out for here will be the completeness of rotations, particularly on her combos. Unders hurt her at Japan Open, and she can’t afford too many of those here in this field if she is to get back on the Skate America podium.
6. Amber Glenn USA - There’s some dark horse potential here with Glenn. She won her first ever senior international medal a month ago at US Classic, putting down some of the best skating of her career en route to the podium. The X factor with her has always been about whether or not she feels like she belongs with the competition; and after that bronze at US Classic, the belief should be stronger than ever.
7. Karen Chen USA - If you haven’t heard already, Chen just started her freshman year at Cornell, and from what we saw from her at Autumn Classic, she’s skating with a more carefree attitude now than she has in recent years. She was solid but not spectacular in Oakville, taking fourth there, but she’s very much got the potential to make it up into the top half.
8. Wakaba Higuchi JPN - Higuchi just hasn’t been the same skater since her silver medal at Worlds in 2018. She battled a foot injury for much of last season, and she just hasn’t gotten the consistency and confidence in her jumps back. She was eighth at Lombardia Trophy to start the season, and while she has all the goods to be a medalist here, it will be a tough event for her if her jump issues continue.
9. Mako Yamashita JPN - The surprise silver medalist at Skate Canada last season, Yamashita has shown really solid fundamentals with big jumps. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing since that superb performance. She was sixth at Ondrej Nepela Memorial to start her season.
10. Stanislava Konstantinova RUS - It’s been a rough start to the season for Konstantinova, who took silver in her first Grand Prix last season in Finland. She knows what it’s like to be one of the best - she was 4th at Europeans last season as well - but early signs have pointed to a lack of her prior confidence, which makes it even tougher for a nervy skater like her to be at her best.
11. Yi Christy Leung HKG - It’s never easy being a last-minute replacement, but Leung has shown that she can hang with some of the best in the world. She was 14th at her first Worlds last season. Often solid in practice but inconsistent in competition, it will be interesting to see how she handles the Grand Prix pressure for the first time. Two clean programs could put her in a surprise top 6 finish.
12. Veronik Mallet CAN - Mallet started off her season with a 12th-place finish at Autumn Classic. She has some solid skating, but the inconsistency in her jumps is what will keep her from making it too far up in the standings here.