Alexandra Ignatova won the Denis Ten Memorial for her first international gold in five years on Saturday, Oct. 10 by 16.81 points after a clean skate in both programs. She also became the first woman to win a women’s singles event post-pregnancy. Her score of 226.01 was her highest so far in two competitions in 2026, previously placing second at the Kinoshita Group Cup in September with a score of 221.06.
This was Ignatova’s second international competition since certain Russian skaters were given neutral status by the International Skating Union. This is also her second international competition since she gave birth in August of last year.
At 17-years-old, and in her first senior season, Yujae Kim has skated well, finishing second in the Cranberry Cup in August as well as the Denis Ten Memorial, after taking second in the short program and third in the free skate. And Kim’s score of 209.2 isn’t just the highest score she’s had this season but the highest score she’s received in her career.
Finishing third was the home favorite Sofia Samodelkina, who finished third in the short program and second in the free skate. Her score of 204.36 was her highest since the 2026 Winter Olympics when she achieved a 207.46. This was Samodelkina’s first competition of the 2026-27 season.
Following Samodelkina was Viktoriia Safonova, who made her second appearance this season with a much-improved score from her previous performance at the Trialeti Trophy in the beginning of October. Safonova finished fourth in both the short and free skate for a total score of 198.80. That total was the highest international scoring Safonova achieved in her career.
Mariia Zakharova made her season debut in Kazakhstan, finishing in fifth with her highest international points total of her career. Zakharova landed eighth in the short program but fifth in the free skate and finished 1.44 points ahead of Veronika Zhilina who finished in sixth.
Following Zhilina was Dina Khusnutdinova, who made her international debut. Khusnutdinova finished fifth in the short program with a score of 63.09 but finished seventh in the free skate with a score of 122.61 for a total score of 185.70.
Phattaratida Kaneshige placed eighth after finishing ninth in the short and eighth in the free for a total score of 161.05. Her best technical element in her eighth-place free skate was her triple salchow, double toe, double loop combo which she earned 7.9 points for.
Following Kaneshige were Chinese teammates Yi Zhu and Ruiyang Zhang, who finished with 157.14 and 155.3 points, respectively. While Zhu had the better free skate, finishing ninth to Zhang’s 10th place finish, Zhang had the better short program, finishing sixth to Shu’s 10th place short finish.
This week, the ISU is hosting the Challenger Series Budapest Trophy in Budapest, Hungary from Oct. 15 through Oct. 18. The competition is hosting both the men’s and women’s singles and ice dance categories.
France’s Kevin Aymoz and Italy’s Daniel Grassl headline the men’s singles while Canada’s Madeline Schizas and Switzerland’s Kimmy Respond headline the women’s singles. Aymoz, Schizas and Respond are all making their season debuts.