2018-19 Ladies' power ranking

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My the last but one ranking before the worlds. The only open question is whether Liza or Zhenya is for the Russian team:

#1 Rika Kihira no news

#2 Alina Zagitova I believe in her finding the mojo before the worlds.

#3 Kaori Sakamoto no news

#4 Satoko Miyahara no news

#5 Sofia Samodurova +3 Sofia's consistency has finally started to bring "pcs fruits". After winning Europeans with a decent score she is firmly in the team. As the worlds will be in Japan I don't see her scoring more than the Japanese. The way she was judged in Japan during a JGP stage in 2017 is one of bright examples of poor judging.

#6 Bradie Tennell She is not consistent and she URs. But her programs are impressive and she is US #1

#7 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva -2 Elizaveta keeps falling in my ranking as it is end of January and her jumping status after the illness is still unclear same as her worlds chances.

#8 Maria Bell +2 Not the best jumper but a very good skater. US #2 this season.

#9 Evgeniya Medvedeva new Not exactly new but now that Stasya bombed the Europeans and Liza is a big if her chances to go to the worlds are suddenly higher than 0.

#10-11 Eunsoo Lim, Elizabet Tursynbaeva new They will be in the worlds and they have good chances for top-10 finish

 

[Step Sequence4]

imo top 10 as of now:
1. Rika Kihira; Clean, almost unbeatable, not clean could be beaten by most on the teams from RUS/JPN.
2.Kaori Sakamoto; Consistent full package, Nats champion should give her a boost, good chance at podium.
2.Alina Zagitova; If clean, likely the one who could be closest to clean Kihira and a podium lock, if we get a repeat of nats/euros likely out of top 6-8.
4.Sofia Samodurova; Extremely consistent, seems to improve at every single comp, placement depends on who else goes clean.
5.Satoko Miyahara; Outside podium threat.
6.Elizaveta Tuktamysheva; Giant question mark. If she's recovered to GPF form, could easily jump to one of the #2's on this list, if not, likely won't be sent to worlds
7.Evgenia Medvedeva; Outside chance to go to worlds, if clean a podium threat.
8. Bradie Tennell; Consistency and UR issues now, with good skates could place as high as top 5 with faltering of others.
9.Eunsoo Lim; With two clean programs could be a dark horse to pace high.
10.Mariah Bell; With a 3-3 would probably do very well (top 5-6?), without, probably bottom of top 10.

Wildcards: Alexia Paganini, Viveca Lindfords, Emmi Peltonen, Stanislava Konstantinova, Gabrielle Daleman (if in form top 10 lock), Alaine Chartrand, Elizabet Tursnybaeva (These are in no particular order)

Podium will likely be a mix of any of the 6 JPN/RUS selected

 

[lzxnl]

Personal top 8; I don't know enough about the others to rank them unfortunately

1. Rika Kihira
If she skates completely clean, absolutely unbeatable. The level 2 spin in the SP and the 3A<< fall at GPF show just how many points she still left on the table. She can probably afford one major or two minor mistakes and still win.

2. Kaori Sakamoto
Skated really well to win the National title, and appears capable of repeating a similarly clean performance at Worlds. 4CC will be intriguing.

3. Alina Zagitova
Alina is at 3 because of her long program meltdowns. I am leaning towards believing she is struggling with jumping in general given how laboured her jumps appear, but if she can overcome these issues, a clean Alina is still the greatest threat to Rika. If she repeats her Euros or Nationals performances, she might not make the top 10.

4. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
There are no guarantees that Liza will make Worlds. If she does, and fixes her 3A, she is the only skater aside from Alina that could technically challenge Rika. However, the lack of news is a little unsettling.

5. Satoko Miyahara
Her jumps have regularly been a problem. However, she has had some strong performances this year and her performance ability is still nothing to scoff at. If she skates like she did at NHK with less URs, she could challenge for a podium.

6. Sofia Samodurova
Really impressive skate to win Europeans and her scores have been gradually rising. Her technical score does complicate her podium chances, unfortunately. She likely needs a bit of luck to podium.

7. Bradie Tennell
When her Nationals title defence was on the line, Bradie unfortunately faltered. Her 3Lz seems a little unstable in general. If she can overcome these difficulties and skates cleanly, she can certainly place in the top 5, but it remains to be seen if that'll happen.

8. Evgenia Medvedeva
We haven't seen many clean performances from Evgenia at all this season. Her attendance at worlds would need to be based on Liza withdrawing and Rusfed deciding that Stasya's bombing at Euros was unacceptable. She has made strides in her long program and her skating has really matured a lot. I went from an Evgenia basher to a fan and I'm excited to see her improvement continue into next season, even if we don't see her at Worlds.

I do actually expect the podium to be in the above order. I expect Alina to bounce back for Worlds, but I don't think she'll be perfectly clean.

 

[Elucidus]

Tursynbaeva will move up quite a bit now, I suppose :agree:

 

[BillNeal]

Well, contrary to the favourite heading into another recent ISU championship, Rika came back from trailing after the SP (with an invalid element) to decisively winning 4CC by 14+ points. She holds the World record for the SP, earned at GPF rather than a 'B' competition, and is consistently scoring 150+ in the FS and 221+ total. She is no doubt the clear favourite heading into Worlds, as she has also won every single international competition this season and is the only lady to do so.

I hope Tuktamysheva and Kostner can come back strong for Worlds because even though Sofia put on some great performances at Euros, the 4CC ladies have shown this week that they are currently ahead.

 

[sx98423]

Well, contrary to the favourite heading into another recent ISU championship, Rika came back from trailing after the SP (with an invalid element) to decisively winning 4CC by 14+ points. She holds the World record for the SP, earned at GPF rather than a 'B' competition, and is consistently scoring 150+ in the FS and 221+ total. She is no doubt the clear favourite heading into Worlds, as she has also won every single international competition this season and is the only lady to do so.

I hope Tuktamysheva and Kostner can come back strong for Worlds because even though Sofia put on some great performances at Euros, the 4CC ladies have shown this week that they are currently ahead.

we get it lol, the subtlety was completely lost. your comments always remind me of this tho https://pics.me.me/it-hurt-itself-in-its-confusion-me-irl-22454195.png since all this shade you're throwing definitely applies to some of your faves as well

anyways if lilbet can manage to land the quad at universiade i think she'll catapult into the top 5 for sure

 

[solar]

I'm excited to see where Elizabet falls now in people's updated rankings :yay: Hope she continues with good performances for the rest of the season!

 

[chopinskate]

I'm curious, what chances do the Canadian ladies have for Worlds? Is Kostner coming back from injury?

 

[lzxnl]

I'd put Tursynbaeva 6th, right below where Tuktamysheva and Miyahara are in my rankings. If clean, all three of them have similar scoring potential; Tukt and Miyahara's highest scores this season are roughly the 219s they scored at NHK, while Tursynbaeva dropped about 3 points on the 2A in her SP and around 7 on the 4S in the FS, putting her at around 217, plus maybe a PCS boost for landing a quad. I don't think she'll try two 4S for Worlds, so that's likely where she'll be. Sofia will be breathing down her neck though; she can easily overtake Tursynbaeva if the latter misses her 4S.

 

[Interspectator]

It hurts me that Mai, who has scored above 200 points in every single competition in the last two seasons, isn't going to Worlds. But at least she has the full set of 4CC medals. :sad21:

 

[skatenewbie]

It hurts me that Mai, who has scored above 200 points in every single competition in the last two seasons, isn't going to Worlds. But at least she has the full set of 4CC medals. :sad21:

Yes! She's actually one of the most consistent skater, she did have </<< here and there but no bombing, and only 2-3 fall in the last 3 season (none so far this season). She just always unlucky, always got toughest GP, being 4th 4 times out of 6 times competing in GP, and a salchow away from her GP final ticket this season.

 

[lusterfan]

Really sucks that Mai is one of the few consistent 200+ skaters, but won't even be going to worlds...

 

[[email protected]]

I did not think that 4CC will bring any changes to my list but it did. Hence, there is another one before the final decision on the Russian worlds team:

#1 Rika Kihira she looks like a clear favorite but... she depends on 3As. With 3 of them she is unbeatable. With 2 of them she is still a favorite but with a small margin. But if she skates like she did at 4CC clean Zagitova will beat her.

#2 Alina Zagitova If clean she will score above 230. Can she skate 2 clean programs at the worlds?

#3 Kaori Sakamoto frankly speaking, I see warning signals. She looks heavier now and she jumps heavier. Especially it was clear during FP. I saw something similar with Gracie when she jumped to the moon before and during Sochi but then it started to deteriorate slowly but steadiliy. All in all, if the first 2 skate their content cleanly there will be a very big gap between them and everybody else unless Liza goes for 2 3As, 2 3Lz-3Ts, and 3F. (and she needs to get into the team first).

#4 Satoko Miyahara at the mercy of the tech panel

#5 Sofia Samodurova no news.

#6 Elizabet Tursynbaeva + 4-5 Lizbet showed her joker: fully rotated 4S. Her other jumps were clean except for a stepout on 2A. She already beat Kaori. If she lands 4S or especially 4S-3T that she showed recently, she becomes a podium contender. Who would think?

#7 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva no news - the key thing is her recovery which is still unknown. Apparently, tricks with the dress at the gala had a big toll on her. Sad.

#8 Bradie Tennell -2 I do like her programs and skating but it seems that she does not have a solution to her UR issues yet.

#9 Evgeniya Medvedeva She has the biggest upside potential of all the ranking participants but she has to get into the team first.

#10-11 Maria Bell - 2-3 A brilliant skater and performer. Still there is much to be achieved in the jumping department. Plus the judges have to be convinced that she deserves better pcs.

#10-11 Eunsoo Lim She has top-10 worlds potential but I don't think higher than that. There were mistakes at 4CC and overall her free program skating needs some improvement efforts.

 

[Roast Toast]

I'm expecting a strong Zagi to show up at worlds. It's the only title she doesn't have and I suspect she's hungry for it in a way that she has been missing this season. Must be hard to train and give it your all when your jumps are starting to fail you and you see the 3A kids everyday...

 

[DSQ]

I did not think that 4CC will bring any changes to my list but it did. Hence, there is another one before the final decision on the Russian worlds team:

#1 Rika Kihira she looks like a clear favorite but... she depends on 3As. With 3 of them she is unbeatable. With 2 of them she is still a favorite but with a small margin. But if she skates like she did at 4CC clean Zagitova will beat her.

#2 Alina Zagitova If clean she will score above 230. Can she skate 2 clean programs at the worlds?

#3 Kaori Sakamoto frankly speaking, I see warning signals. She looks heavier now and she jumps heavier. Especially it was clear during FP. I saw something similar with Gracie when she jumped to the moon before and during Sochi but then it started to deteriorate slowly but steadiliy. All in all, if the first 2 skate their content cleanly there will be a very big gap between them and everybody else unless Liza goes for 2 3As, 2 3Lz-3Ts, and 3F. (and she needs to get into the team first).

#4 Satoko Miyahara at the mercy of the tech panel

#5 Sofia Samodurova no news.

#6 Elizabet Tursynbaeva + 4-5 Lizbet showed her joker: fully rotated 4S. Her other jumps were clean except for a stepout on 2A. She already beat Kaori. If she lands 4S or especially 4S-3T that she showed recently, she becomes a podium contender. Who would think?

#7 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva no news - the key thing is her recovery which is still unknown. Apparently, tricks with the dress at the gala had a big toll on her. Sad.

#8 Bradie Tennell -2 I do like her programs and skating but it seems that she does not have a solution to her UR issues yet.

#9 Evgeniya Medvedeva She has the biggest upside potential of all the ranking participants but she has to get into the team first.

#10-11 Maria Bell - 2-3 A brilliant skater and performer. Still there is much to be achieved in the jumping department. Plus the judges have to be convinced that she deserves better pcs.

#10-11 Eunsoo Lim She has top-10 worlds potential but I don't think higher than that. There were mistakes at 4CC and overall her free program skating needs some improvement efforts.

Liza Is competing today so we’ll see her recovery soon perhaps.

As for Bradie I agree that until she’s a bit more consistent she can’t clime much higher but she’s in it for the long haul. If she takes out her shaky 3Lz3Lo she’ll never progress as a skater. It’s brave of her to keep trying to nail it.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

I'm expecting a strong Zagi to show up at worlds. It's the only title she doesn't have and I suspect she's hungry for it in a way that she has been missing this season. Must be hard to train and give it your all when your jumps are starting to fail you and you see the 3A kids everyday...

I think it also helps Alina to go in being the "underdog" at least to many people. Rather than being the only favorite, she's been written off a little bit so it might be easier for her to deal with the pressure that way.

I think it would be a mistake to underestimate Alina. When she's on and confident, she can win anything. She showed us that last season :luv17:

 

[chopinskate]

I think it also helps Alina to go in being the "underdog" at least to many people. Rather than being the only favorite, she's been written off a little bit so it might be easier for her to deal with the pressure that way.

I think it would be a mistake to underestimate Alina. When she's on and confident, she can win anything. She showed us that last season :luv17:

She's definitely a great competitor, and I hope she pulls it together at worlds.

 

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Liza Is competing today so we’ll see her recovery soon perhaps.

Unfortunately, today's SP showed nothing. Let's wait for the free. But I see potential control skates either during Russia Cup or elsewhere. And there is a small chance that Stasya gets back in the picture.

 

[rachno2]

My eyes just rolled so far back into my head. Kaori is in terrific shape. She has some of the best jumps among ladies right now and she should have been on that 4CC podium. I can’t wait to see her medal at Worlds.

 

[Fluture]

My eyes just rolled so far back into my head. Kaori is in terrific shape. She has some of the best jumps among ladies right now and she should have been on that 4CC podium. I can’t wait to see her medal at Worlds.

I agree. Kaori literally just won Nationals. And where is she jumping ”heavier“? I would like an explanation on that because frankly speaking, I fear that I‘m becoming blind. I didn‘t see any heavy jumps from Kaori, only a few mistakes in the FS and otherwise beautiful skating skills and soft jumps with a gorgeous knee bend. She wasn‘t perfect but who‘s always perfect? I hope she will do well at Worlds.