QUARTER-FINALS SET AT WOMEN’S MATCH RACING WORLDS
Chicago, IL (19 September 2025) – After a third day of unseasonable light airs on Lake Michigan, the qualifying round-robin stage of the World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship concluded, advancing the top eight teams to the quarter-final stage. France’s Pauline Courtois and the Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team led the round-robin stage with ten wins and just one loss.
Despite an earlier start, it was another long and patient day on the water for the twelve teams competing at the 2025 Women’s Match Racing World Championship hosted by Chicago Yacht Club.
Completing the qualifying round-robin in the late afternoon, the top eight teams advanced to the quarterfinals whilst the day spelled the end of the competition for the four bottom-placed skippers Celia Willison (NZL), Kristine Mauritzen (DEN), Kenza Coutard (FRA) and Martina Carlsson (SWE).
Safely through to the quarterfinals, Sweden’s Anna Östling and the Wings Sailing team secured a crucial earlier win against defending women’s match racing world champions Match in Pink Team from France, skippered by Pauline Courtois. Courtois and team had remained undefeated at a world championship since the 2024 Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Jeddah.
As the quarter-final pairings were decided, Östling was paired with Denmark’s Lea Vogelius/ Team WOW. Courtois was paired with eighth-placed Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box from the Netherlands. Aartsen and team narrowly missed leaving the competition today, but a deciding win against New Zealand’s Celia Willison secured their place in the quarters.
“Today was a tricky one for us,” added Aartsen on their return to the dock, “Shifty winds, constantly changing, and waves coming at us from every direction. We didn’t kick off the event in the way we had hoped, but little by little, we managed to find our rhythm again. We now have a tough match against Pauline [Courtois] in the quarterfinals, but we are ready to battle all the way for the win!”
The remaining two pairings see USA’s Nicole Breault/ Vela Racing against Australia’s Juliet Costanzo, and New Zealand’s Megan Thomson/ 2.0 Racing against France’s Julia D’Amodio/ Shark Caviar Team.
As the afternoon progressed, the race area was moved to a more favourable location in search of breeze, but as the wind died completely, Race Director Anne Malledant made the decision to abandon racing for the day after the first three races, which saw wins for Östling, Thomson and Courtois in their respective pairings.
The forecast for tomorrow’s final day of the world championship shows signs of an earlier breeze with the race schedule brought forward to 9am, and with the intention to conclude the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final to decide the 2025 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Champion.
Racing continues tomorrow from 0900 local time.
Results after Round Robin:
1. FRA Pauline Courtois 10–1 91%
2. NZL Megan Thomson 9–2 82%
3. AUS Juliet Costanzo 8–3 73%
4. SWE Anna Östling 7–4 64%
5. DEN Lea Richter Vogelius 6.5–4 59%
6. FRA Julia D’Amodio 5–6 45%
7. USA Nicole Breault 5–6 45%
8. NED Julia Aartsen 5–6 45%
9. NZL Celia Willison 3–8 27%
10. DEN Kristine Mauritzen 3–8 27%
11. SWE Martina Carlsson 2–9 18%
12. FRA Kenza Coutard 2–9 18%
For live results, follow https://womenswmrt.com/live-results/
For images, visit https://gallery.hannahleenoll.com/2025-womens-match/
For enquiries, contact info@wmrt.com
Women’s Match Racing World Championship Competitors:
Julia Aartsen, Team Out of the Box, NED
(Crew: Eva Asbeek Brusse, Ismene Usman, Nerine Usman, Saar Van Bemmel)
Nicole Breault, Vela Racing, USA
(Crew: Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer, Dana Riley Hayes, McKenzie Wilson, Hailey Thompson)
Martina Carlsson, Beyond Racing, SWE
(Crew: Svea Sahlin, Amanda Ljunggren, Hanna Gaskell-Brown, Hedvig Hedström)
Juliet Costanzo, Easy Tiger Racing, AUS
(Crew: Sarah Parker, Rachel Bower, Katie Pellew, Alice Parker)
Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite, FRA
(Crew: Maëlenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, Sophie Faguet, Laurane Mettraux)
Kenza Coutard, CKAFEW Racing Team
(Crew: Elena Circiello-Vaillant, Amandine Le Van Jacob, Chloé Le Roux, Flavie Foucher)
Julia D’Amodio, Shark Caviar Team, FRA
(Crew: Alice Chiappori, Valentine Lauret, Roxane Perrot, Manon Pennanec’h)
Kristine Mauritzen, Those Seagulls, DEN
(Crew: Emilie Nordby, Katrine Ejlev, Maria Reinhold, Julia Toroi)
Megan Thomson, 2.0 Racing, NZL
(Crew: Tiana Wittey, Josi Andres, Charlotte Porter, Hattie Rogers)
Lea Richter Vogelius, WOW Racing, DEN
(Crew: Joan Hansen, Annette Srøm, Anne Sofie Munk-Hansen, Josefine Boel Rasmussen)
Celia Willison, Edge Women’s Match, NZL
(Crew: Clare Costanzo, Phoebe Buckland, Serena Woodall, Ruby Scholten)
Anna Östling, WINGS Sailing, SWE
(Crew: Linnéa Wennergren, Annie Saeedfar Wennergren, Annika Carlunger, Karin Knigge)
For more updates and information on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour and event documents, visit womenswmrt.com and follow us on social media at Facebook (@womenswmrt), Instagram(@womenswmrt) and X (Twitter) (@womenswmrt)
Women’s World Match Racing Tour 2025 Schedule:
Stage 1 Casa Vela Cup, San Francisco USA, 28-31 May
Stage 2 Santa Maria Cup, Annapolis USA, 4-7 June
Stage 4. Nordea Women’s Trophy – Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, 30 June – 5 July
Stage 5. Women’s Match Racing World Championship, Chicago, 17-20 September
Stage 6. Bermuda Women’s Match Race, Bermuda, 21-26 October
*Dates listed race days only
About Women’s World Match Racing Tour
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. womenswmrt.com
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