Mone Chiba strikes Grand Prix gold again in Helsinki
2025 Finlandia Trophy: Women’s Figure Skating
Mone Chiba of Japan struck gold again, winning her second consecutive Grand Prix gold at 2025 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki. USA’s Amber Glenn placed second, while Japan’s Rino Matsuike soared from sixth to third place overall for the bronze.
Mone Chiba
Chiba turned out the backend of her opening triple flip-triple toe and received an edge call on a triple Lutz, but those where the only errors in an otherwise solid short program. The 2025 Skate Canada champion also racked up many positive GOES in her level-four footwork and spins, particularly the layback spin. She placed second (72.89) with her upbeat routine to “Last Dance.”
“I am disappointed about my mistake, but overall, I did enjoy my performance because of the audience and the energy they had,” said Chiba. “This program, ‘Last Dance,’ deserves a lot of speed, and I tried my best to give that throughout my performance. The combination was better than in Canada, where I got minus GOE. I was able to keep myself composed and focused after the combination.”
The 2025 World bronze medalist slightly underrotated the back end of her opening triple flip-triple toe as well as a triple loop, but was otherwise solid. Her elegant free skate to selections from Romeo and Juliet, featured four more clean triple jumps, including a triple Lutz-double Axel sequence and triple Lutz-double toe-double loop combination. All three spins and footwork were graded a level four with high GOES, and she finished first in the free skate with 144.33 points. With a total score of 217.22, she took the top spot on the podium by just over three points.
“Not all the jumps were perfect,” noted the 20-year-old. “I got two ‘q’s, but for the rest of the jumps, I think the quality was really good. I was also able to deliver emotions and the choreography, so I am pretty happy. I only went into this competition wanting to do well. I was rather thinking that I wanted to be the best second-place athlete, because when I think about winning, I put pressure on myself and start to really care about the placement. Then I tend to not do well. ”
With this win, Chiba is the number one woman in the standings of the 2025-26 Grand Prix Final qualifications.
“There is room for improvement, and I’ve identified those things,” she said of the competition in two weeks. “So, at the Final and at Nationals, I want to kind of restart the process and work on my performance again.”
Amber Glenn
Despite having had root canal work done and sinusitis last week, the 2024-25 Grand Prix Final champion scored a new season’s best of 75.72 points for first place in the short program. Her uplifting performance to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” included a solid triple Axel and triple loop. The only flaw was a slightly underrotated triple toe on the back end of a triple flip. She also produced level-four spins and footwork, earning positive grades of execution (GOE) throughout.
“You know, I haven’t been feeling my best,” said the 26-year-old. “I’ve been sleeping a lot since I got here, and if anything, I felt a bit slow and sluggish, but it might have helped in my favor. I was very relaxed, very calm, almost a little too much. I had to really pump myself up to get the Axel done, and then I kind of felt like ‘okay’. But I felt like I could do another program afterwards. I wasn’t tired. I wasn’t breathing heavy. I’m just sleepy from the medications, but it’s just antibiotics. You know, my body is fighting off infections.”
Glenn felt the ice was “soft” compared to “hard and slippery.”
“So, you slide a lot more,” she explained. “Whereas a lot of us are used to harder ice because we share with hockey skaters and all that. So, it’s a little harder to get up in the air. Especially on picks, jumps are a lot harder. Edge jumps are fine. I mean, I’m 26, I’ve been doing it for so long. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of good mental training that kept me over my feet, but it was not necessarily the best jumps I’ve ever done.”
The 2025 Cup of China champion opened her free skate with a solid triple Axel, but doubled the following Lutz. Glenn later slightly underrotated triple flip, but those were the only mistakes she made. All three spins were graded a level four while the footwork received a level three. She placed second in this segment with 137.69 points, but with a total score of 213.41, was not able to hold on to first place.
“Even a year ago, I would have been happy with this result,” said Glenn. “Also a year ago, with about the same score, I won in France. It’s just a different competition, different people. It’s still a decent score.”
Glenn acknowledged that there were a lot of mistakes and that she was only feeling about “80%.”
“All that considering, I’m really happy with where I am mentally,” she said. ” I mean, of course it’s hard and a bit disappointing when you’ve had like four Grand Prix wins in a row, and then to get second—of course that’s hard. But I mean, it’s not like, ‘oh my gosh, I should have been first.’ Hell no! Mone was absolutely incredible. She’s amazing! Even at my very best, I’m not like she is. So, I knew if I wasn’t tip-top perfect and had a miracle happen, I wasn’t going to win.”
Rino Matsuike
Matsuike underrotated the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe as well as a triple flip in her short program to “Lux Aeterna” by Christopher Tin. The double Axel was solid and she earned a level four on the flying camel spin and positive GOEs on her level-three footwork. She placed sixth going into the free skate with 61.26 points.
The 21-year-old’s free skate to The Nutcracker Suite fared a little better, but there were still rotation issues. She received a “q” on the second jump of a triple Lutz-triple toe-double toe, as well as on a triple flip and the front end of a triple Lutz-double toe. She otherwise showed a solid triple loop, triple flip-double Axel sequence, double Axel, and triple Salchow. Two spins were graded a level four, and she placed third in this segment with a new season’s best of 131.95. With a total score of 193.21, she rose three spots to third place overall.
“I did not really think that I would skate completely clean with no mistakes, so that was quite exciting!” said Matsuike. “Mentally, yeah, I went in with the mindset that I will complete the program, but I didn’t think that I would land everything clean. After I jumped my last jump, I thought ‘oh wow’ and I was pretty surprised that I was able to jump everything clean. There was a spin that I couldn’t get the level, but for others, I was able to achieve the levels I wanted to achieve.”
“Before coming to Helsinki, I wasn’t able to really build the practice that I wanted,” she confessed. “But this performance gave me the confidence. I really enjoyed hearing audience cheers here at this arena and I hope my performance left something in audience heart.”
Bradie Tennell
USA’s Bradie Tennell placed fourth in the short program with 63.92 points. Her lyrical routine to “Young and Beautiful” featured a solid double Axel, triple loop and a level-four spin. The only error came when she landed the front end of a triple Lutz-triple toe on the quarter, while the back half was deemed underrotated.
“I’m kind of really disappointed about the skate today,” said the two-time U.S. national champion. “I’ve been doing so much better in practice. I’m obviously disappointed about the mistake on the combination, but also on the levels. I have to really go into that, work on that, and now focus on the free skate.”
Tennell’s free skate was plagued with slight underrotations, with seven jumps receiving the “q” call. Only a triple Salchow was deemed clean, but she showed good spins and footwork in her elegant routine. She placed fourth in the free skate and overall (126.46/190.38).
The 27-year-old said she proud as she felt “defeated” after the short program.
“Today, everything just flowed, and I really fought for everything,” said Tennell. “I was a little tight on some of the landings, but honestly, the performance as a whole felt really strong and much more close to what I’m capable of. And I really just had a better feeling today, like a more fighting spirit, and it just reminded me of why I came back to this sport. Like why I love it so much and why it’s so important to me. I just took a moment on the ice when I finished to just feel everything. I really wanted to just take a minute to feel the emotions and absorb it and just be happy for all the work that I put in and how far I’ve come.”
Madeline Schizas
Canada’s Madeline Schizas stepped out of the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe in her short program, but everything else was clean. The three-time Challenger Series bronze medalist produced a solid double Axel and triple loop, as well as two level-four spins, earning 65.16 points for her confident routine to music from The Lion King.
“I am really happy,” said Schizas. “I’ve worked a lot in the past couple of weeks on the triple–triple, just making sure I have a plan if the combo doesn’t go to plan. I was able to do the combo, and I think I really carried the performance well today.”
The three-time and reigning national champion shared that her federation wanted her to go back to the “Lion King” program.
“I was like, ‘you don’t need to tell me twice, I really like that one!'” she recalled. “We couldn’t clear the other music either. So, at this point, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but regardless, I’m happy to be doing this program for a few events; even if it’s not the one I take on for the second half of the year.”
The 22-year-old earned a new season’s best for fifth place (123.44) with her free skate to “Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto.” Her routine was near-solid with the exception of a step out on a triple flip and doubling the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe. In all, she landed six clean triples and earned a level four on two spins. However, with a total score of 188.60, she slipped to fifth place overall.
“I wish I had had those last five points in me,” said Schizas. “I was like one triple toe and an extra note. I was so close, but I’m happy with how I skated based on my other skates this season. So, I’m happy with my skates here and I feel like I’m on a good path going into Canadians. I have about eight weeks until nationals, so I’m ready to go home and just train for a little bit.”
Rion Sumiyoshi
Skating to “Alba Lullaby”—a tribute to her family for their support, Japan’s Rion Sumiyoshi opened with a strong double Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe. She slightly underrotated a triple flip before catching her toe pick and taking a hard fall during the footwork. She placed fifth going into the free skate with 61.42 points.
“I’ve shed a lot of tears in the past from frustration, so I want to turn the tears into happy tears,” said the 22-year-old. “I want to switch the gear and turn the tears into something positive. And, you know, the mistake on the steps was a very unexpected occurrence. I’m very angry that I couldn’t perform the way I practiced in a place that is so important to me.”
Unfortunately, the 2025 Grand Prix de France bronze medalist took three falls in her free skate: quad toe, triple Salchow and triple Lutz. All three jumps were underrotated, as was a triple loop. She placed seventh (116.84) in the free skate and slipped to seventh (178.26) overall.
Loena Hendrickx
Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx found herself in 10th place (54.75) after taking two falls in the short program.
Hendrickx explained that she wasn’t feeling a 100%.
“I had a rough period coming here,” she said. “I couldn’t eat a lot, so energy is very low, but still, I could do it in training this morning. So I really think the adrenaline took the energy away from performing. I was not really in my performance today, but still I’m competing, so I want to show my best fighting, and I wanted to fight.”
“Of course I’m not happy with the skate, so I will forget this one very fast and on to the next one,” she added. “There were a lot of things today. I didn’t feel it was my lucky day. Before the competition, I told my brother that I already had a lot of bad luck today, so hopefully the competition will give me luck, but unfortunately it wasn’t.”
The skater wasn’t able to do a run-through of her short program during practice due to technical issues. She also said she “peaked” very early in the season and was tired.
“I’m always the kind of person that it’s hard for me to come back to training after a competition,” Hendrickx pointed out. “I always have a bit of a low after a competition, and being sick now as well is also not ideal. I’m very tired, but I’m looking forward to a little rest and an easier preparation towards the end of the competition. Maybe I will do Zagreb. Maybe I will rest a bit to prepare for the second half of the season. We will see how tomorrow goes and how I feel.”
Hendrickx subsequently withdrew from the event prior to the free skate and posted the following statement on her Instagram account:
“Health is important, and I wasn’t feeling well. I hadn’t been eating properly for a few days and my energy was too low. And even though I’m a fighter and wanted to give it my all, I was feeling too weak. That’s why we decided to fly back home so I can get the rest I need. I’m sorry to let you down, but I promise to put myself and my health first, and to come back stronger. Thank you for the unconditional support!”
Iida Karhunen of Finland placed sixth (180.17) overall, while France’s Lorine Schild finished eighth (175.63).
With the conclusion of 2025 Finlandia Trophy, the 2025-26 Grand Prix Final qualifiers for the Women’s discipline are listed below:
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