Well, since 2022 Olympics are almost upon us we could consider the 2026 Olympics.
In addition to some potential veterans such as Kamila Valieva(Or even Shcherbakova, Trusova), there would also be skaters such as Sofia Akatieva, Sofia Samodelkina for 07 and Veronika Zhilina for 08. Now, when it comes to these, I think that Veronika Zhilina has the highest ceiling for sure, with Sofia Akatieva right up there as well. Both have triple axels and multiple quads. Akatieva should have a PCS advantage at this point in time, although I think Zhilina has plenty of potential there as well. Zhilina's the better spinner. Akatieva to this point has been far more consistent than Zhilina and if that doesn't change in a major way, she should be the prime favorite since someone like Valieva just can't compete with her tech content.
For the younger age groups still eligible for 2026, I don't think they would be nearly as strong overall. 09 has Sofia Titova from Plushenko's who has done very well lately, but I don't think she has nearly enough high-end potential to compete with these quad girls. Although I'm sure Plushenko will be trying to teach her quads and 3A. For Plushenko there also is Veronika's younger sister Alena, who's actually been learning 3Axel. However, I don't think she's nearly as talented as her older sister in just about any regard, especially jumps - even the 3A attempt's quite tiny. Hence, I don't expect these to really be able to compete.
Someone quite interesting for 10 is actually Krivonosova in my opinion. Of course, she's probably ahead of everyone else listed here in PCS categories, but in terms of jumps... Just last year I wouldn't have considered her to have any sort of a chance, but she's actually gotten some jumps out of nowhere, an absolute massive improvement in a year. Usually these skaters don't show such a dramatic improvement in jumps in such a short amount of time. Just some 5 months earlier she couldn't even get past a downgrade on a 3A attempt, but then recently did a massive fully rotated off-ice 3A. I mean the improvement in such a time is just insane, for a skater still learning 3-3.
So I'd say that overall, for 2026 the safest bet would be Sofia Akatieva, with Veronika Zhilina having incredibly high potential if she could reach it. Possibility a veteran could make a stance if able to sustain the jumps for so long. And I'd have Krivonosova as the June 2010 birthday joker card, similar to how Valieva is for 2022.
