2025 Cup of China: General Info and Pregame Chat

[gsk8]

2025 Cup of China is the second event of the 2025-26 ISU Grand Prix series and is scheduled to take place October 24-26, 2025, in Chongqing, China. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six international senior invitational events and culminates with the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December.

Competitors collect points in their individual Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six skaters/teams in each discipline can qualify for the Final.

Skaters are seeded and invited to the six Grand Prix of Figure Skating events based on the results obtained at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Skaters/teams who have placed first through sixth in each of the four categories are seeded and assigned to two events. Skaters/teams who have placed seventh through 12th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships are selected for two ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events. Skaters with a top 24 Season Best Scores (from the 2024-25 season), as well as those placed in the top 24 of the ISU World Standings, can also be invited.

In order for a skater/team to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2024-25 or current 2025-26 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country skaters, previously ranked skaters or split ranked couples who return with new partners.

• ISU Event Page
• Announcement
• Schedule
• Results

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Entries updated October 21st 2025:

Men:
Vladimir Litvintsev (AZE)
Daiwei Dai (CHN)
Boyang Jin (CHN)
Zhiming Peng (CHN) (added August 18th)
TBA (CHN)
Daniel Grassl (ITA)
Shun Sato (JPN)
Sota Yamamoto (JPN)
Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ)
Junhwan Cha (KOR)
Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT)
Camden Pulkinen (USA) (WD October 13th)
Tomoki Hiwatashi (USA) (added October 14th)
Jacob Sanchez (USA)

Women:
Xiangyi An (CHN) (added August 18th) (WD October 21st)
Ruiyang Zhang (CHN) (added August 18th)
Yi Zhu (CHN)
TBA (CHN)
TBA (CHN)
Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO)
Anna Pezzetta (ITA) (added October 15th)
Rino Matsuike (JPN)
Rinka Watanabe (JPN)
Hana Yoshida (JPN)
Haein Lee (KOR)
Jia Shin (KOR)
Kimmy Repond (SUI) (WD October 14th)
Amber Glenn (USA)
Alysa Liu (USA)

Pairs:
Fiona Bombardier/Benjamin Mimar (CAN) (WD September 24th)
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN)
Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihang Huang (CHN) (added August 18th)
TBA (CHN)
TBA (CHN)
Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava (GEO)
Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel (GER) (added September 25th)
Lucrezia Beccari/Matteo Guarise (ITA) (added August 14th)
Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii (ITA)
Rebecca Ghilardi/Filippo Ambrosini (ITA) (added August 22nd)
Katie McBeath/Daniil Parkman (USA)
Ekaterina Geynish/Dmitrii Chigirev (UZB) (WD as of August 13th)

Dance:
Junfei Ren/Jianing Xing (CHN)
Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu (CHN) (added August 18th)
Zixi Xiao/Linghao He (CHN)
TBA (CHN)
Olivia Smart/Tim Dieck (ESP)
Loicia Demougeot/Theo le Mercier (FRA)
Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA)
Hannah Lim/Ye Quan (KOR)
Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA)
Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (USA)
Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik (USA)

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Ekaterina Geynish/Dmitrii Chigirev (UZB) have withdrawn

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Ekaterina Geynish/Dmitrii Chigirev (UZB) have withdrawn

Oh. I hope it's nothing major, as they are still on the SkAm entry list.

I'm guessing the replacement will be announced along with the rest of the host spots, as the selection competition has just ended.
Only one pairs team competed, the other one withdrew due to injury, so it's even possible that two CoC spots will go back into the pool. Good news for teams near the top of the replacement list.

 

[FlossieH]

Oh. I hope it's nothing major, as they are still on the SkAm entry list.

I'm guessing the replacement will be announced along with the rest of the host spots, as the selection competition has just ended.
Only one pairs team competed, the other one withdrew due to injury, so it's even possible that two CoC spots will go back into the pool. Good news for teams near the top of the replacement list.

Does the spot go the Holichenko/Darenskyi who should have had one GP spot (WS top 24 and JWC medal) but didn't get it because there weren't enough to go around, or does it go to Ghilardi/Ambrosini who are top of the replacement list based on last year's SB? To me, it seems fairer to give Holichenko/Darneskyi the spot they earnt, even though they are further down the replacement list, before giving Ghilardi/Ambrosini a second spot - but I'm not the ISU...

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Does the spot go the Holichenko/Darenskyi who should have had one GP spot (WS top 24 and JWC medal) but didn't get it because there weren't enough to go around, or does it go to Ghilardi/Ambrosini who are top of the replacement list based on last year's SB? To me, it seems fairer to give Holichenko/Darneskyi the spot they earnt, even though they are further down the replacement list, before giving Ghilardi/Ambrosini a second spot - but I'm not the ISU...

Last season, they did not do this. Caldara/Maglio were in 24th in World Standing and did not get any of the spots that had to be replaced..

The issue is really that the top 24 in both WS and SB take up too many of the GP spots in pairs, of which there are only 48, especially once you start mixing in host spots. Teams that should, and usually would, only get one GP assignment get two because their federations hold their host spots past the initial round of assignments, and other teams get nothing instead, despite being "guaranteed" one assignment.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

The issue is really that the top 24 in both WS and SB take up too many of the GP spots in pairs, of which there are only 48, especially once you start mixing in host spots. Teams that should, and usually would, only get one GP assignment get two because their federations hold their host spots past the initial round of assignments, and other teams get nothing instead, despite being "guaranteed" one assignment.

For context, here's how guaranteed GP spots would distribute themselves in "optimal" conditions (i.e. Top 10/12 at Worlds are in the top 24 in both WS and SB, and the top 24 in WS and SB are all the same skaters):

​	Singles​	Ice Dance​	Pairs​
Worlds (12/10 x 2)​	24 (33.3 %)​	20 (33.3 %)​	20 (41.7 %)​
World standing / Season's best (12/14 x 1)​	12 (16.7 %)​	14 (23.3 %)​	14 (29.2 %)​
"Free"​	36 (50.0 %)​	26 (43.3 %)​	14 (29.2 %)​
Total​	72 (100 %)​	60 (100 %)​	48 (100 %)​

This does not account for host spots, and obviously, some skaters/teams on the WS/SB list get a second assignment, and often the World standing and season's best lists don't only contain the same 24 skaters/ teams, but the difference across disciplines is already very visible, I think.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise ITA have been assigned a spot!

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise ITA have been assigned a spot!

Interesting, as this indicates that they did use the returning couple clause but still did not get an assignment in the first round. Otherwise, they wouldn't be on the alternate list.

 

[FlossieH]

Interesting, as this indicates that they did use the returning couple clause but still did not get an assignment in the first round. Otherwise, they wouldn't be on the alternate list.

Seems that way. There isn't any other logical explanation! I hope that Lucrezia is fully recovered.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Host spots have been added:

Women: Ruiyang Zhang, Xiangyi An
Men: Zhiming Peng
Ice Dance: Wang/Liu
Pairs: Zhang/Huang

One pairs spot remains open. CFSA might be waiting to see if Zhu/Lei recover from injury in time, so that spot could also go back.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Will update the entry list later tonight

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Rebecca GHILARDI / Filippo AMBROSINI (ITA) are in for the last pairs spot.

(I.e. China did give up their last host spot)

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Wow, all Italians up against each other!

 

[4everchan]

Wow, all Italians up against each other!

and wow... China being so generous with Italians... I wonder why oh wait... yeah... makes sense

 

[elektra blue]

and wow... China being so generous with Italians... I wonder why oh wait... yeah... makes sense

we're exchanging spaghetti/noodles recipes

 

[4everchan]

we're exchanging spaghetti/noodles recipes

Pasta Carbonara Secrets exchange

 

[elektra blue]

Pasta Carbonara Secrets exchange

now that you know i have to silence you...

 

[4everchan]

now that you know i have to silence you...

good luck with that

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Fiona Bombardier/Benjamin Mimar (CAN, pairs) have withdrawn

This spot should go to Hocke/Kunkel (GER), but that could change if the Chinese fed waits to replace B/M until after the Nebelhorn Trophy and one of the other teams there without two GPs outscores 188.54 points.