Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii (ITA) struck Pairs gold at the NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN) and qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final after a Free Skating which was full of suspense. 

Conti/Macii (ITA) win second Grand Prix title

Two-time ISU World bronze medalists Conti/Macii came from second place in the Short Program to win gold, their second ISU Grand Prix title. Hungary’s Maria Pavlova/Alexei Sviatchenko earned the silver medal while 2022 Olympic Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China slipped from first to third to claim the bronze. The suspense lasted until the very last couple had skated.

Conti/Macii opened their emotional program to “Caruso” with a triple twist and followed up with a triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence. The Italian Champions went on to produce difficult lifts. The only mistake came when Conti fell on the throw triple loop. 

The 2025 ISU European silver medalists earned 134.89 points and totaled 208.58 points to move up from second place. Emotions ran high backstage when the Italians realized that they had won.

“It was a big competition and the tension was so high,” Conti noted. 

“It was a good fight for every element, although it was not our best program. We can work more and do our best in the next competition."

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA) rose from second after the Short Program to gold medal position with their emotional 'Caruso' routine. © ISU

The pair collected 28 points for the Grand Prix standings and have qualified for their fourth ISU Grand Prix Final. But first, they will return to the comforts of home.

“The first step is go back to our place after three weeks in Asia and eat some Italian food," Conti continued. Then we need to have a meeting with all the team and fix the mistakes that we had.

"Our next competition will be the Final."

Pavlova/Sviatchenko delivered a strong performance to “Without You” that featured triple jumps and throws as well as beautiful lifts. The 2025 Grand Prix de France bronze medalists achieved a season’s best with 134.24 points and accumulated 207.28 points overall to pull up to second. 

Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN) demonstrated beautiful lifts as they took silver and improved their chances of reaching the ISU Grand Prix Final. © ISU

“It was a tough one,” Pavlova admitted. “After the second element I was dead. It was challenge and every element was a fight but we did it, except for my [single] Axel. 

“It was better than the Grand Prix in France and we are going in the right direction. We are very happy with our medal and the second place.”

Pavlova/Sviatchenko now have 24 points from the silver and bronze medals in their two Grand Prix events but have to wait and see if that gets them into the Final. 

Overnight leaders Sui/Han impressed with their triple twist and throw triple flip in their performance to music from “Tapestry of a Legendary Land”, a Chinese dance drama, which was inspired by the famous Song Dynasty painting.

However, the 2022 Olympic Champions struggled with two lifts and were ranked fourth in the Free Skating with 129.16 points. With 203.79 points, the two-time ISU World Champions slipped from first to third and had to settle for the bronze. 

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han (CHN) slipped from overnight first to third place after struggling with lifts in their program inspired by the Song Dynasty. © ISU

“For me personally it wasn’t really good,” Han said. “In the second part, I did not have enough energy. The time was short but we were happy to compete in Japan. We feel we can come back but we need more time. 

“For the next competition, we want to fix the programs and practise more for my energy.”

With two bronze medals and 22 points, Sui/Han will probably not now qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final.

The NHK Trophy Pairs medalists show off their prizes for Niccolo Macii's celebratory selfie. © ISU

Yuna Nagaoka/Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN) turned in a personal best performance to the “Tree of Life Suite”. They had the third best Free Skating score with 130.59 points but remained in fourth place at 202.11 points. Alisa Efimova/Misha Mitrofanov (USA) finished fifth on 193.00 points. 

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix Skate NHK Trophy is as follows:

Friday, November 7: Rhythm Dance, Pairs, Men’s & Women’s Short Programs
Saturday, November 8: Free Dance, Pairs, Men’s & Women’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 9: Exhibition Gala

ISU Grand Prix Standings

Check out who is on their way to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final:

Men                               Women                    Pairs                      Ice Dance

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.

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Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

17 - 19 Oct 2025                      Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)

24 - 26 Oct 2025                      Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

31 Oct - 2 Nov 2025                Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (CAN)

7 - 9 Nov 2025                         NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN)

14- 16 Nov 2025                        Skate America in Lake Placid (USA)  

21 - 23 Nov 2025                      Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN) 

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

4 - 7 Dec 2025                       Nagoya (JPN)