"There's a lot to add." How Trusova performed at the ISU Grand Prix after a pause

Vice-champion of the Olympics in Beijing in women’s singles Alexander Ignatov (before marriage – Trusov) took second place at the third stage of the ISU Grand Prix in Shenzhen (China).

For a short and arbitrary program, the 22-year-old skater scored 221.27 (72.37 + 148.90) points.

Gold was won by the Japanese Mone Chiba (224.48), and bronze was taken by the Korean Li Ha Ying (210.79).

In January 2026, Trusova returned to the ice and resumed her career after the birth of her son. So, she became the first skater who won a medal at the ISU Grand Prix after the birth of a child.

At the ISU Grand Prix stages, Trusova last performed in October 2021, when she won at Skate America. This tournament was recently invited to Trusov. It will be held from 13 to 15 November in Everett, Washington.

The Russian started this season successfully, winning second place at the Kinoshita Group Cup in Tokyo in early September and then winning at the Denis Ten Memorial in Almaty in October. Both launches are ISU Challengers.

The International Skating Union (ISU) allowed Russians to compete in a neutral status. However, their quotas for major tournaments are limited due to a lack of ranking points. These restrictions were introduced after the beginning of the military operation in Ukraine.

How did experts assess the second place Trusova at the Grand Prix?

The arbitrary program of Alexandra Trusova, which included a purely executed quadruple lutz, brought her 148.90 points and first place in this program. She beat Monet Chibu by 0.50 points. However, according to the results of two programs, the Russian took second place, losing to the Japanese 3.21 points.

According to the silver medalist of the 2002 Olympics in ice dancing and choreographer Ilya Averbukh, the Russian woman lacked a triple axel in the short program to win the Grand Prix.

“She probably doesn’t jump confident enough to put it in the program. While she is preparing this jump, Averbukh told RBC Sport.

At the same time, he stressed that for Trusova this is “a great personal victory for her.” Congratulations to Sasha! I think she's a great smart girl, so words of delight and wishes to go forward. Very well done, he concluded.

Honored coach of Russia Alexander Zhulin congratulated Alexandra Trusova on the “chic” and “cleanest” rental, calling her return to the ice with a quadruple lutz after the birth of a child “huge respect”.

Great return of our guys to international tournaments. So far, everything is fine, he told Metaratings.ru.

Zhulin also noted that the imminent appearance of the quadruple toe loop in Trusova’s arsenal, along with the already existing quadruple lutz, will not leave chances for Japanese rivals.

Japanese skaters skate softly, lyrically, so Sasha has a lot to add, but she knows it. You still need to improve the slide and attach a quadruple toe loop, and then no one will have a chance at all, the coach explained.

Trusova herself said that she feels not the pressure of popularity, but the expectations of the public after the 2022 Olympics. At the Games, she was the first in the history of women's singles skating purely performed five quadruple jumps in one program.

“Five quads [jumping] will most likely no longer be. Let's stop waiting for this together. I am glad that it turned out to gain a good shape, said the skater after the rental.

Honorary Vice President of the International Skating Union (ISU) Alexander Lakernik said that second place “for the first time is a good result”.

Of course, it was possible to set a super-task and fight for the first, but second place is also a good result, giving chances to get to the final on the condition of the second good competition. So I think that she has fulfilled the task so far, Lakernick told Match TV.