With the time zone difference, it is hard to digest that the Friday night results are already in for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2025 in Nagoya, Japan. For Alysa Liu, she is more than happy that the day is over.
Liu, the 20-year-old reigning world champion, delivered her best-ever performance in the women’s short program at the Grand Prix Final, putting herself in a great position to chase gold.
While Liu found her rhythm on the ice, her teammate and defending champion Amber Glenn battled a tough setback, stumbling early in her program and landing at the bottom of the standings.
The final day of competition starts very early in the US, at 3:30 a.m. ET.
Liu Shines in the Short Program
Liu looked calm and confident as she glided to “Promise.” Her focus on refining her technical skills paid off, earning her a score of 75.79. That impressive number placed her just 1.48 points behind Japan’s Chiba Mone, who thrilled the home crowd with a leading score of 77.27.
Liu’s performance highlighted her determination to improve her jump combinations, particularly her triple Lutz-triple loop. “This is definitely the best short program I’ve put out this season,” Liu said after her skate. She explained that a big part of her focus was something surprisingly simple—breathing. “It sounds silly, but it’s so easy to forget to breathe when you’re in the moment. Breathing is part of your movement, so I made sure to do it throughout my program.”
Glenn Mistake is Costly
While Liu was in the zone, Glenn’s night didn’t go as planned. Skating to a Madonna program, Glenn popped her opening triple Axel, a crucial jump for elite skaters, and struggled to recover. Despite landing a triple flip-triple toe-loop combination and a triple loop later in her program, the damage was done.
She finished with a score of 66.85, placing sixth out of six competitors. When asked how she felt afterward, Glenn didn’t hold back: “Bad,” she said, “I did everything else I could, but you can’t make up for a mistake like that.”
Key Moment Ahead of the Olympics
This weekend’s competition in Nagoya isn’t just about medals, it’s a key moment for skaters gearing up for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. The Grand Prix Final is the last big chance for the world’s best to face off before the Olympic cycle heats up.
For Glenn, the free skate will be about resilience and finding her footing again. For Liu, it’s an opportunity to prove she’s ready to be a gold-medal contender on the biggest stage.
TV Schedule – Saturday, December 6 (US Times – ET)
Saturday, December 6 (US Times – ET)
- Ice Dance Free Dance: 3:30 a.m. ET (Live on Peacock)
- Men’s Free Skating: 6:00 a.m. ET (Live on Peacock)
- Women’s Free Skating: 7:00 a.m. ET (Live on Peacock)
- NBC & E! will offer delayed coverage of these events
Friday, December 5 Results
Results from ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2025 in Nagoya, Japan (Source: Olympics.com)
Men’s Singles
| Place | Name | Country |
| 1 | Yuma Kagiyama | JPN |
| 2 | Shun Sato | JPN |
| 3 | Ilia Malinin | USA |
Women’s Singles
| Place | Name | Country |
| 1 | Mone Chiba | JPN |
| 2 | Alysa Liu | USA |
| 3 | Ami Nakai | JPN |
| 6 | Amber Glenn | USA |
Pair Skating
| Place | Name | Country |
| 1 | Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara | JPN |
| 2 | Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii | ITA |
| 3 | Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin | GER |
Ice Dance
| Place | Name | Country |
| 1 | Madison Chock / Evan Bates | USA |
| 2 | Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Guillaume Cizeron | FRA |
| 3 | Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier | CAN |
| 6 | Emilea Zingas / Vadym Kolesnik | USA |
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