With Mai Mihara out of Cup of China due to injury, the path is very open for Loena Hendrickx to walk away with this title on her way to the Grand Prix Final. It also means the rest of the podium opens up quite a bit for what has always been a very talented field.
Cup of China predictions
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GOLD Loena Hendrickx BEL - Her win at Skate America was very comfortable, and if she can do similarly again this week, she should walk away with the title at Cup of China fairly comfortably as well. What she lacks in a seventh triple in the free skate she gains from the component scores that she gets across the two programs. Either way, this should be just another step toward the Final for her next month.
SILVER Hana Yoshida JPN - Just off the podium at Skate America, Yoshida has the technical goods to challenge for gold this week, but her big obstacle has been putting together two good programs back to back. So far this season, the short has been more of the problem program than the free, so a clean short is key to setting her up for a first Grand Prix medal.
BRONZE Niina Petrokina EST - The surprise bronze medalist at Skate America has a shot at another podium finish on the Grand Prix this week. We’ve seen the potential in her skating for a few seasons now, and perhaps she’s finally putting it together consistently in competition, which will bode well for her the rest of the season.
4. Madeline Schizas CAN - Fourth at Skate Canada, Schizas had to pull up from eighth after an uneven short program. The difference we’ve already seen from her this year is the confidence in her technique early in the season. Two clean programs this week will put her on the podium, a very possible scenario.
5. Yelim Kim KOR - Kim won Finlandia Trophy to start her season a month ago, but after a strong short program, she had an up-and-down free skate. She will need to be a lot cleaner than that among this field if she is to set herself up again for a shot at qualifying for the Grand Prix Final two years in a row.
6. Rinka Watanabe JPN - Skate Canada was an improvement for Watanabe on her first couple of competitions of the season. Without the triple axel currently in her arsenal, a lot of her success depends on being consistent, and she hasn’t yet shown that this season.
7. Audrey Shin USA - Seventh at Skate Canada, Shin is hoping to continue stepping up in her scores on her way to Nationals. And so far, that’s been the case, with each competition being a step up improvement for her so far this season.
8. Ekaterina Kurakova POL - A late substitute after Bradie Tennell withdrew last week, Kurakova was seventh at Skate America to start her Grand Prix. Given that she was originally only assigned to one GP this season, this will be a good bonus for her going into the second half of the season.
9. Xianyi An CHN - The two-time Chinese national champion was ninth at Skate America, three weeks ago. She will be looking for a bit more consistency this week.
10. Yi Zhu CHN - The last time we saw Zhu in international competition was her home Olympics, and it was something of a bittersweet experience for her. She took all of last season off and is back in action this week.
11. Hongyi Chen CHN - Eighth at Shanghai Trophy a month ago, Chen returns to the Grand Prix for the first time in four seasons.