⛸️ Valieva Reunites with Tutberidze, Skate America Opens Next Month! This Week's Figure Skating News 🎉 - 2026.10.20 | Figure Skating

Hello, fans! 🙌

It's Tuesday morning, and we have a basket of figure skating news for you! Today we bring a surprise reunion from Russia and news about the first Grand Prix event coming next month ⛸️

😲 Valieva Returns to Tutberidze

Kamila Valieva, who was at the center of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics doping scandal, has rejoined the training group of coach Eteri Tutberidze ^[1]. Russian sports media 'Sportru' reported the news on the 19th, and it marks a reunion after about a year and a half ^[1].

The two drew attention during the Beijing Olympics doping scandal that shook the figure skating world. At just 15, Valieva contributed to her team's gold medal with outstanding skating in the team event, but a positive test for a banned substance put her at the center of controversy ^[1]. Kim Yuna also spoke out rarely, saying through social media that athletes who violate doping rules cannot compete ^[1]. CAS later imposed a four-year suspension, and it was revealed that she had been given 56 substances between ages 13 and 15, shocking the sports world ^[1].

However, it has not been proven that Tutberidze was directly involved in doping, and no separate sanction was imposed on him ^[1].

Here's the path to this reunion. Last year, Valieva split from Tutberidze and moved to the group of coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya. She said she no longer wanted to go back and wanted to challenge other coaches ^[1]. After returning in January at the Russian Jump Championships, she worked on recovering her quadruple jumps and triple Axel, but at last month's Russian national team test skate she fell and failed to complete three jumps ^[1]. This month, illness forced her to withdraw from the Russian Grand Prix in Kazan ^[1].

The reason for the reunion has not been revealed. Sportru suggested it may be related to Valieva's neutral athlete status in international competition, and noted that Tutberidze would welcome her return as his top skaters have left or been injured ^[1]. Earlier this week there was also news of her comeback being cancelled, so we'll be watching where this reunion leads 👀

🇺🇸 Skate America Opens November 13!

Now for next month! The ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Series' first event, 'Skate America,' will be held for three days from November 13 to 15 in Everett, Washington, USA ^[2]. Kim Yu-jae and Yun A-sun are reported to compete ^[2]! 📸

This event is where athletes compete for a spot in the Grand Prix Final, the season's final stage . Korean fans have a special memory of it: at the 2022 event, Cha Jun-hwan won bronze in men's singles . 🥉

Men's and women's singles will be contested, and world-class skaters will face off in Everett ^[3]. The Washington State Tourism office also said the event will be a high-level competition, with ice dance free dance and ladies' free skate on the schedule ^[4].

Valieva's long journey and the excitement of next month's Grand Prix are both must-watch stories! See you next week with more 💙⛸️