WINTER NOTE | The hymn of love Kaori Sakamoto showed at her last Grand Prix Final
Kaori Sakamoto, 25, has stated that she intends to retire from competition after the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The highlights of the first half of this final season came at the 2025 Grand Prix Final in Nagoya and at the NHK Trophy a month earlier.
From the perspective of Japan’s leading women’s singles skater, this WINTER NOTE looks back on those two competitions.
From fifth in the short to first in the free and bronze overall – Nagoya Grand Prix Final 2025
On 6 December in Nagoya, the women’s singles event at the 2025 Grand Prix Final ended with Alysa Liu (USA) winning with 222.49 points, Ami Nakai taking silver with 220.89 and Kaori Sakamoto earning bronze with a total of 218.80.
Sakamoto scored only 69.40 in the short program, starting the free in fifth place. Japanese media reported that she shed tears of frustration after the performance. Even so, skating in the final group in the free program to “Hymne à l’amour”, she attacked with her trademark speed and big, sweeping jumps, landing seven triples and earning 149.40 points. With the highest free skate score of the night, she surged onto the podium.
Viewed as a number alone, 218.80 may look modest compared to the days of the “unbeatable Sakamoto” who won three straight World titles. But the way she refused to be weighed down by her short program mistakes and seized first place in the free at her last Grand Prix Final was the kind of closing act only a queen who knows how to win could deliver.
Grand Prix Final 2025 – women’s singles top 6
| Place | Skater | Country | Total score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alysa Liu | USA | 222.49 |
| 2 | Ami Nakai | Japan | 220.89 |
| 3 | Kaori Sakamoto | Japan | 218.80 |
| 4 | Amber Glenn | USA | 211.50 |
| 5 | Momone Chiba | Japan | 210.22 |
| 6 | Rinka Watanabe | Japan | 207.14 |
Based on ISU official results and overseas media reports.
The ISU Figure Skating account on X (Twitter) described the women’s event in Nagoya as “a heart-pounding battle right to the very end” and shared a commemorative photo of the three medalists: Liu, Nakai and Sakamoto.
“Time to Say Goodbye” and “Hymne à l’amour” – the story of a final season
This season Sakamoto is using “Time to Say Goodbye” for her short program and a free program built around Edith Piaf-related pieces: “La vie en rose”, “Hymne à l’amour” and “Non, je ne regrette rien”. They are all pieces she had been saving specially for her last season.
In June she announced her intention to bring her competitive career to an end after the Milan–Cortina Olympics. Laughing that “if I don’t draw a line after this season, I feel like I’ll never retire”, she also explained that she chose this music not as an “ending” but as a first step toward her next self. Her free skate in Nagoya embodied that theme, with power and softness coexisting in every glide.
What the 27-point NHK Trophy win told us
The ticket to the Grand Prix Final was earned at the NHK Trophy 2025 held on 8 November at TOWA YAKUHIN RACTAB Dome in Osaka. Sakamoto scored 77.05 in the short, 150.13 in the free and 227.18 in total, winning the event for the fourth time and finishing more than 27 points ahead of runner-up Sofia Samodelkina (Kazakhstan, 200.00). It was also the season’s best score in women’s singles up to that point.
In the free skate she once again landed seven triple jumps, using the full size of the rink with wide-ranging steps and weaving Piaf’s world into her performance with detailed expression that brought the audience to its feet. Even in a season heading toward retirement, it was a performance that showed where the reigning queen currently stands, still evolving in both technique and artistry.
NHK Trophy 2025 – main women’s singles results
| Place | Skater | Country | Total score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaori Sakamoto | Japan | 227.18 |
| 2 | Sofia Samodelkina | Kazakhstan | 200.00 |
| 3 | Luna Hendrickx | Belgium | 198.97 |
| 4 | You Young | Korea | 198.82 |
Based on ISU official results.
On X, the ISU hailed her as the “four-time queen of NHK Trophy”, while the official Olympic Games account wrote “no words” after her brilliant short program. Both posts underlined once again that Sakamoto remains the skater to beat this season.
The current state of Japanese women’s singles – and Sakamoto’s role
Three consecutive World Championship titles, Olympic team silver and individual bronze, multiple national titles – in recent years it is no exaggeration to say that Japanese women’s singles has revolved around Kaori Sakamoto. At the same time, the next generation is steadily gaining strength: Ami Nakai, who took silver at this Grand Prix Final, Momone Chiba, last season’s World bronze medalist, and Rinka Watanabe with her triple Axel are clear examples.
Japan has three women’s singles spots for the Milan–Cortina Olympics. Judging from the flow of the NHK Trophy and the Grand Prix Final, Sakamoto is still at the center, but the gap between her and the youngsters is clearly shrinking. The picture is reminiscent of the time when she herself was chasing predecessors such as Mao Asada and Satoko Miyahara.
That is why, when we watch Sakamoto in her final season, it feels right not only to see it as the glorious send-off of a great champion but also to place her within the longer story of how the baton in Japanese women’s singles will be passed on.
Enjoying the remaining time from a fan’s perspective
There are not many chances left to see Kaori Sakamoto take the ice. Even so, the 149.40-point free in Nagoya and the 227.18 total in Osaka showed us that the queen is “not finished yet”. Her jump power, the glide of her skating and the way she seems to trace Piaf’s lyrics with her body may all be at their richest right now.
As WINTER NOTE, we hope to keep following Sakamoto’s every move together with the broader context of Japanese women’s singles. What final “stroke” will she leave on the ice in Milan? Until that day comes, all we can do as fans is watch and enjoy.
