Men Yuzuru Hanyu finished the first half of the season with the highest scores in all three categories - short program, free skate and total score; thus was seen as the favorite to win his first Grand Prix title since 2017, with
Nathan Chen tipped to be the skater most likely to beat him. It was the first time since the 2014 Junior Grand Prix Final that two-time silver medallist
Shoma Uno did not qualify for the final, while
Kévin Aymoz became the first French man to qualify since
Brian Joubert.
Short program Chen skated a clean short program receiving scores that let him lead Hanyu by over 12 points and 1.44 shy of Hanyu's current world record from the
2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Hanyu made an error, as he was unable to add a combo jump to his program, notably sitting in the kiss and cry alone after one his coaches, Ghislain Briand experienced difficulties travelling from Toronto to Turin, with Ghislain's passport stolen while transiting through Frankfurt Airport. Aymoz finished in third after the rink organisers accidentally began playing the wrong short program music, however he was able to keep his composure and earned a personal best short program score. Aliev's short program placed him in fourth place, after a near-fall when his blades clipped the ice during his step sequence. Hanyu was also able to land the quadruple lutz, the first since his ankle injury before the 2018 Winter Olympics and was visibly exhausted at the end of the performance. Aymoz skated a sublimely performed free skate, the best of his career, to win his first major competition medal and the first for France since Brian Joubert in 2007. Trusova, who was ranked number one in the world, was the favorite to win the title from her fellow training partners.
Free skate Despite featuring no quadruple jumps in the free skate like her training partners, Kostornaia's score in the short program was enough to maintain her lead and claim victory, with her performance being highly praised by critics and fans. Her performance in the free skate also made Kostornaia the new world record holder for the highest combined total in ladies' singles, with a score of 247.59. Shcherbakova won the free skate with a personal best, with her technical content gaining the edge over Kostornaia, with the judges placing her second overall. Trusova became the first female skater to execute a quadruple flip, as well as achieving the highest technical score of the session, although could not execute the performance standard that Shcherbakova - who achieved a technical score four points lower - had achieved, therefore, she placed third overall and third in the free skate by the judging panel. Defending champion Kihira made her first quadruple jump attempt of her international career, falling on a quadruple salchow in spite of having it previously in practice. Nonetheless, she executed two triple axels, including one in combination. Zagitova, skating the last program of the day, stunned the audience with a fall on her double axel, a two-footed landing on her triple loop and suffered multiple under-rotations and downgrades that saw her slide from second to last place, being close to tears in the kiss-and-cry as the scores were revealed.
Pairs Sui Wenjing and
Han Cong were the favourites to clinch their first Senior Grand Prix title and China's first Grand Prix final win in 10 years, after winning their sole Junior Grand Prix title in 2011.
Aleksandra Boikova &
Dmitrii Kozlovskii had recorded the best free program of the season and as the only other team to win both of their Grand Prix events, were expected to challenge for the title. High-profile pairs teams such as defending bronze medalists
Evgenia Tarasova &
Vladimir Morozov and last years qualifiers
Nicole Della Monica &
Matteo Guarise missed qualifying for the final. The only team to return after medalling last season was silver medalists
Peng Cheng &
Jin Yang.
Short program Each team made little mistakes, with Sui & Han taking the lead in the short after a mistake on their throw, resulting in Sui's hand touching the ice. The three Russian pairs finished second, third and fourth; with Boikova & Kozlovskii less than a point behind and Pavliuchenko and Khodykin completing the top three. Peng & Jin finished in fifth after both skaters made mistakes on their triple toeloops and Peng skate touching the ice after their throw. Moore-Towers & Marinaro finished last in the short program after an error-ridden program, including a fall from Moore-Tower's on the throw and Marinaro stepping out of his triple toeloop.
Free skate Sui & Han's lead from the short program was enough to win their first ever Senior Grand Prix title after four attempts, with teammates Peng & Jin completing a 1-2 sweep for China. Han uncharacteristically made mistakes in his jumps, with Sui explaining to the press that having their three Grand Prix within the past month had taken a toll on their bodies, "this time, we've had many problems, this is our third competition in a very short time for us it was really hard." Peng & Jin, who won the free skate after finishing fifth in the short program were pleased with their performance, with the only mistake being both skaters doubling their triple salchow attempts. The Russian pairs had extreme difficulties with their skates, with Boikova & Kozlovskii unable to cope with the pressure of the situation with mistakes on both of their throws, while Pavliuchenko & Khodykin experienced a near-similar performance to their free skate performance from last years final, with Pavliuchenko falling twice during the program.
Ice dance Gabriella Papadakis &
Guillaume Cizeron were hotly tipped to win their second Grand Prix final title, after finishing the season with personal best scores over 10 points ahead of the next best team
Victoria Sinitsina &
Nikita Katsalapov in overall total scores and 8 points ahead of the free dance from training mates
Madison Chock &
Evan Bates. Defending champions
Madison Hubbell &
Zachary Donohue also requalified for the final, while defending bronze medallists
Charlène Guignard &
Marco Fabbri missed out on qualifying on home turf. Canadian's
Piper Gilles &
Paul Poirier made their first appearance at the Grand Prix Final since 2014, after no Canadian team qualified the previous year.
Alexandra Stepanova &
Ivan Bukin were the only other team from last year to requalify for the final.
Rhythm dance The rhythm dance was a close competition overall, with Papadakis & Cizeron suffering their first fall in competition for more than four years, with Papadakis' blade getting caught under the ice during a step sequence. Chock & Bates were the only team to accomplish a seasons best on the rhythm dance, finishing in third place behind compatriots Hubbell and Donohue. All teams struggled to achieve a level four difficulty status, with messy footwork a frequent feature throughout the segment.
Free dance Although they were not able to better their world record score, Papadakis and Cizeron were able to win their second Grand Prix final title, with Chock and Bates winning their first Grand Prix final medal (silver) in four years. Hubbell and Donohue's bronze medal meant that the coaching team of
Marie-France Dubreuil,
Patrice Lauzon and
Romain Haguenauer had swept the podium for the first time. It is also the first time two American teams made the podium at the event. Papadakis joked at the end of the press conference that "I'm happy to eat. That's what I've been thinking all week because I'm in Italy and the food is so good and I've been thinking." Stepanova & Bukin rose to fourth place and Gilles & Poirier finished in fifth, although neither team received a seasons best on their free skates, both were pleased with their performances. Sinitsina & Katsalapov dropped from fourth to last after the free skate, much to the surprise of the audience and fans, with the judges finding technical faults upon reviewing the performance. == Junior recap ==