I can't find it right now, but there was an interview during the off-season, in which Ikura said that she wants to make it to the JGPF this season. I think that's also where she talked about "still having things to prove in Singles", which to me sounds very much like the opposite of "just being there for fun" or putting less pressure on herself.
Of course, nobody but Ikura and her team knows what has happened since that interview. Maybe JSF is trying to push her into fully transitioning to Ice Dance with the abrupt split of Tanaka/Nishiyama, maybe she and her team are making the decision, who knows? Still does not change the fact that she isn't less deserving or even completely undeserving of getting a JGP just because she's doing both Singles and Ice Dance. Not if she's performing like this.
And while Ikura definitely has a history of underperforming at international competitions, we are still talking about a skater who never placed lower than 5th at any of her international assignments. Ikura's bad performances are still good performances when compared to most of the Junior field.
But not every potential ice dance male partner comes with the backing of Kinoshita Group, who doesn't have an ice dance team on their roster....
