2026 Worlds Women's Team Preview: Japan's Medal Bid vs USA, China

This article reflects information available as of October 13, 2026. Rosters and schedules follow announcements from national federations and the organizers, but late changes are possible. Please check the official championship and Japan Gymnastics Association channels for the latest updates.

The 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam (October 17–25) bring back the women's team final, which was not held at the 2025 Worlds in Jakarta. Japan's women arrive with Aiko Sugihara, Rina Kishi, Misa Nishiyama, Haruka Nakamura and Mana Okamura, and international outlets are already calling this Japan's best chance at a team medal since 1966. Written from the perspective of a former Japanese gymnast and the developer of a D-score app, this preview looks at Japan's five-woman squad, breaks down the September Asian Games team final apparatus by apparatus, and sizes up the USA, China and the rest of the field for the team and all-around titles.

2026 Worlds Women's Team Final: Schedule and Format

Women's schedule (qualification Oct 18–19, team final Oct 21)

According to the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships overview, women's qualification runs across ten subdivisions on October 18–19. The team final is on October 21 and the all-around final on October 23. Apparatus finals are split over two days: vault and uneven bars on October 24, then balance beam and floor exercise on the closing day, October 25.

For the full schedule including the men's competition, see our 2026 Worlds Rotterdam schedule and highlights guide.

Team final format: five gymnasts, three up, three count

Each team registers five gymnasts. In the final, three gymnasts compete on each apparatus and all three scores count — the familiar "3-up, 3-count" format. Qualification is more forgiving: four compete on each apparatus and the best three scores count, so one mistake can be dropped. In the final there is no such cushion, and every fall goes straight into the team total. We explain how team totals are built in how gymnastics team scores are calculated (qualification vs final).

• Qualification: four gymnasts per apparatus, best three scores count
• Final: three gymnasts per apparatus, all three scores count
• Women's apparatus: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise (men have six)

Women's scores: D-score plus E-score

Like the men's side, a women's score is the sum of the D-score (difficulty value) and the E-score (execution, starting from 10.0 with deductions). On bars, beam and floor, gymnasts build value by counting their hardest skills, fulfilling composition requirements and earning connection value. The rules for each of the four women's apparatus are covered in the related articles at the end of this post.

Women's floor is the only event performed to music — 90 seconds of it — and music choice and choreography feed directly into how artistry is judged. Floor is also one of Japan's clearest strengths. Gymnasts and coaches who want music that fits their routine can work with a former gymnast who is also a recording artist through our custom competition floor music service, with selection and editing built around the Code of Points.

Japan's 2026 Worlds Women's Team: The Five Gymnasts

Aiko Sugihara: 2025 floor world champion, 2026 Asian Games all-around gold

The anchor is Aiko Sugihara (TRyAS). At the 2025 Worlds she won floor gold and beam bronze (NBC Sports 2025 Worlds results). In September she added the Asian Games all-around title with 55.599. As Qatar Tribune reported, it was the first time a Japanese woman had won the Asian Games all-around, ending China's run of 13 consecutive titles. Having just turned 27, she is the veteran Japan will lean on in both the team and individual events.

Rina Kishi: sixth in the 2025 all-around

Rina Kishi (Toda City SC) placed sixth in the all-around at the 2025 Worlds, one spot ahead of Sugihara. The Gymnastics Now preview of Japan and China notes that Kishi has broken the 14-point mark on floor twice in 2026. A 14-plus on floor is a world-class number, which makes her valuable for both the team floor lineup and the all-around.

Misa Nishiyama: 16-year-old reigning junior world floor champion

Misa Nishiyama (Nanba Club) won floor at the 2025 Junior World Championships and is now 16. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Kyodo) reported that she unveiled a brand-new floor routine at a training session before the Asian Games and was named as one of Japan's all-around competitors. At those Asian Games she took all-around bronze with 55.032 (Qatar Tribune).

Haruka Nakamura and Mana Okamura: experience from 2025

Haruka Nakamura and Mana Okamura were both on the 2025 Worlds team alongside Kishi. Gymnastics Now highlights a big score from Nakamura at Japan's National Sports Festival in September. Because only three of the five can compete on each apparatus in the team final, the key decision for Japan is who goes up where.

Sources: NBC Sports, Qatar Tribune, Gymnastics Now, Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun. The roster was checked against the Gymnastics Now list of every competitor (updated October 13).

Breaking Down the Asian Games Team Final: Japan vs China by 1.100

Apparatus totals side by side

The September 23 Asian Games team final was the main rehearsal for Rotterdam. China won with 166.462 and Japan took silver with 165.362, a gap of 1.100 (Dimsum Daily team final report). Lining up the recorded apparatus totals shows exactly where that gap came from (we checked that the four apparatus totals add up to each team's final score).

Where Japan won: vault and floor

Japan built a lead of 1.900 on vault and 1.933 on floor — 3.833 in total. According to Dimsum Daily, Sugihara opened on vault with 14.066, giving the hosts an early lead of about 1.9 points, and she later delivered 13.966 on floor. Vault and floor are clear strengths for this Japanese team.

Floor separates teams not only through tumbling difficulty but because a 90-second routine that truly performs its music is rewarded in execution and artistry. When the musical climax and the biggest skills line up, the whole routine becomes more convincing. If you want to fine-tune the selection and the 90-second edit, our competition music production (selection, structure, editing) covers everything from rules-aware cut editing to fully original compositions.

Where China won: uneven bars and balance beam

China took back 2.699 on uneven bars and 2.234 on beam — 4.933 in total. Dimsum Daily reports that China moved in front during the bars rotation and extended the lead on beam, where Zhang Qingying scored 15.066. Zhang is the reigning world beam champion from 2025 (15.166, per NBC Sports).

On bars, linking release moves and transitions between the high and low bar is how gymnasts build value; on beam, a 10 cm wide surface, a fall costs a full point. Both are events where a single error is expensive. We break down the skills in uneven bars skills and judging and balance beam skills and scoring criteria.

The question for Rotterdam: how much of the bars and beam gap can Japan close?

The breakdown points to three clear priorities for Japan.

1. Protect the vault and floor lead (about 3.8 points): with all three scores counting, small landing and out-of-bounds deductions add up quickly
2. Shrink the bars deficit (about 2.7 points): the widest gap at the Asian Games, and the biggest lineup decision
3. Zero falls on beam: one fall is a full point, which is fatal in a medal race

It is also worth remembering that China scored 168.498 at this season's Asian Championships (Gymnastics Now), so the Asian Games total was not China's ceiling. To medal in Rotterdam, Japan will need to beat its own Asian Games total.

The Women's Team Medal Race: USA, China, Japan and Europe

USA: seven straight titles, but four Worlds debutants

The United States has won the last seven world team titles (International Gymnast women's preview). The USA Gymnastics team announcement names Skye Blakely, Charleigh Bullock, Reese Esponda, Claire Pease and Hezly Rivera. Blakely, at her fourth straight Worlds, is the only one with World Championships experience; the other four are debutants. Even so, the U.S. remains the clear favorite.

China: the same five as the Asian Games

China brings Zhang Qingying, Qiu Qiyuan, Ke Qinqin, Zhang Yihan and Du Siyu — the same group that won team gold at both the Asian Games and the Asian Championships (Gymnastics Now). International Gymnast notes Qiu's 15.100 on bars at the Asian Games. Expect China's bars and beam strength to carry over to Rotterdam.

Great Britain, Brazil, Italy and the neutral athletes

Great Britain pairs Ruby Evans and Abigail Martin — floor silver and bronze medalists in 2025 — with Alice Kinsella and Becky Downie among others. Brazil has Rebeca Andrade and Flavia Saraiva, and Italy has entered Manila Esposito among its team (Gymnastics Now competitor list). According to International Gymnast, some of the Russian gymnasts competing as neutral athletes, including Angelina Melnikova, were still waiting on visas as of October 12.

Japan's last women's team medal came in 1966

Japan's women last stood on a World Championships team podium with bronze at the 1966 Worlds in Dortmund. Gymnastics Now describes this Japanese squad as the strongest in recent memory and sees a genuine chance at the first team medal since then. If the U.S. and China are a step ahead, Japan's realistic target is the bronze-medal fight against teams such as Great Britain, Brazil and Italy.

2026 Worlds Women's All-Around Outlook: Where Sugihara, Kishi and Nishiyama Stand

The 2025 podium and Japan's placings

In 2025, Angelina Melnikova won the all-around with 55.066, ahead of Leanne Wong (USA) on 54.966 and Zhang Qingying on 54.633 (NBC Sports). Kishi finished sixth and Sugihara seventh, more than two points off the podium. The question is how much of that gap they have closed in a year.

Contenders for 2026

International Gymnast names defending champion Melnikova as the favorite if she makes it to Rotterdam. Olympic bars champion Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) scored 15.650 on bars at the Mediterranean Games in September, with a reported D-score of 7.4. Americans Pease, Rivera and Bullock, plus China's Ke Qinqin — the Asian all-around champion — are also in the mix.

• Favorite: Melnikova (participation pending)
• Bars powerhouse: Nemour (15.650 on bars, D 7.4)
• New generation: Pease, Rivera, Bullock (USA), Ke Qinqin (China)
• Japan: Sugihara, Kishi, Nishiyama (must reach the top 24 and be among Japan's two best qualifiers)

Japan's chances and the two-per-country rule

On paper, Sugihara's 55.599 at the Asian Games is higher than the 55.066 that won the 2025 world title. Different competitions and judging panels mean the numbers cannot be compared directly, though. What is certain is that Japan now has two gymnasts, Sugihara and Nishiyama, who have put together all-arounds in the 55s. Because only two per country can reach the final, which two of Sugihara, Kishi and Nishiyama come out of qualification on top is a story in itself.

What to Watch in the 2026 Worlds Women's Competition

In qualification, watch both the top-8 team line and the two-per-country rule

Qualification decides every final at once. Japan's minimum target is a top-8 team finish; beyond that, the question is how many all-around and apparatus final spots — especially on floor and beam — Japan can secure.

In the team final, watch for falls on bars and beam

As the Asian Games breakdown shows, the Japan–China gap opened on bars and beam. In the team final, whether Japan's three gymnasts hit cleanly on those two events will tell you which way the scores are heading. Conversely, whether Japan builds a lead of a point or more on vault and floor is a good gauge of its medal chances.

• Vault: are the landings stuck to set the tone early?
• Uneven bars: are releases and transitions connected without breaks?
• Balance beam: any falls or major wobbles (a fall costs 1.0)?
• Floor: landings, staying in bounds, and how well the movement matches the music

Apparatus finals end with beam and floor

The final day, October 25, features beam and floor — the two events where Sugihara won bronze and gold in 2025. For a closer look at floor and its music rules, read 2026 Worlds women's floor: Aiko Sugihara's title defense.

Summary

• The 2026 Worlds run October 17–25 in Rotterdam. Women's qualification is October 18–19, the team final October 21 and the all-around final October 23.
• Japan's women's team: Aiko Sugihara, Rina Kishi, Misa Nishiyama, Haruka Nakamura and Mana Okamura. Sugihara won Asian Games all-around gold and Nishiyama took bronze.
• At the Asian Games team final, China scored 166.462 to Japan's 165.362. Japan led by 3.833 on vault and floor but gave back 4.933 on bars and beam.
• The U.S. has won seven straight team titles but brings four debutants. Japan's realistic goal is the bronze-medal fight for its first team medal since 1966.
• Watch for falls on bars and beam, and for the size of Japan's lead on vault and floor, to follow the flow of the scores.

Floor is Japan's weapon, and a 90-second routine lives or dies by its music and structure. If you are a gymnast, coach or parent looking for floor music made for your routine, get in touch through our custom competition floor music service — from song selection and editing to fully original compositions.

Related articles

• 2026 Worlds women's floor: Aiko Sugihara's title defense
• How gymnastics team scores are calculated: qualification vs final
• Women's gymnastics events: rules and highlights of all four apparatus