Wakaba Higuchi

Having opened her season at the Asian Trophy, she made her Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in Ostrava, Czech Republic, taking silver.[9] Competing in the JGP series, she finished fifth in Linz, Austria before winning silver, behind teammate Marin Honda, in Zagreb, Croatia.[8] After repeating as the national junior champion, Higuchi edged Mao Asada by 1.6 points for the senior silver medal at the Japan Championships.[8] At the 2016–17 Japan Championships, Higuchi placed third in the short program and fourth in the free skate but was still able to earn the silver medal behind Satoko Miyahara.[11] Higuchi competed at the 2017 Lombardia Trophy and scored new personal bests for the short program and combined total to win the silver medal.At the 2017–18 Japan Figure Skating Championships, Higuchi finished fourth behind Satoko Miyahara, Kaori Sakamoto, and Rika Kihira.[2] At the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, Higuchi placed eighth in the short program and scored 65.89 points after falling on her combination.[28] She placed fourth in the short program, narrowly behind third-place Kaori Sakamoto, after stepping out of the second part of her jump combination and receiving a flip edge call.[29] After being unable to land any triple Axels in the practice session before the free skate, she elected not to attempt it there and placed second in the segment behind Rika Kihira, taking the silver medal.[36] Higuchi entered the 2020–21 Japan Championships as a favorite for the podium but placed thirteenth in the short program after falling on her triple Axel and executing only a double toe loop as the second part of her jump combination.[40] At the 2021 CS Cup of Austria, she landed a ratified triple Axel in the short program for the first time internationally and set a new personal best after the segment.She struggled in the free skate, finishing fourth in that segment, but still won the gold medal, 5.36 points ahead of silver medalist Park Yeon-jeong.[8] Competing the following weekend at her second Grand Prix, the 2021 Internationaux de France, Higuchi was sixth in the short program after singling her triple Axel attempt.[42] With the 2021–22 Japan Championships serving as the final national qualification contest for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Higuchi placed second in both segments to take the silver medal.She opted not to attempt a triple Axel and skated a clean short program, finishing second in the segment and securing nine points for Japan."[48] Following the eventual disqualification of Kamila Valieva, Higuchi moved up by one placement in the women's singles event and she was declared as the fourth woman to land a triple Axel at the Olympic Games rather than the fifth one.[49] Days after the Olympics concluded, Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, as a result of which the International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian skaters from competing at the 2022 World Championships.[8] Due to the stress fracture, Higuchi withdrew from both of her Grand Prix events – the 2022 Skate Canada International and 2022 NHK Trophy – and stated that she would miss the entire season.[53] In 2024, Higuchi gave a more detailed explanation for her decision, saying, "I chose to take a break because of the injury and my mental state was just unbearable… I thought I would just fade away instead of just resting, so coming back was a surprise even to myself.[63] At the Final, Higuchi would place sixth in the short program after falling on an attempted triple lutz and failing to perform a jump combination.