Baku 2026: European Contenders Shape the Women’s Draw

Europe’s leading women judoka will head to Baku for the 2026 World Judo Championships from 4-11 October, bringing major title ambitions across the early weight categories. The field includes reigning world champions, European champions and several athletes who have built strong momentum during the season.

There will also be important absences. Italy’s Alice Bellandi, the reigning Olympic, world and European champion at -78kg, is continuing her recovery from injury and will not defend her world title. Hungary’s Szofi Ozbas, a two-time reigning European champion at -70kg, is sidelined with an ACL injury, while Kosovo’s world number one Distria Krasniqi will miss the -52kg competition.

At -48kg, Italy’s Assunta Scutto arrives as the reigning world champion and the athlete everyone will be chasing. France’s Shirine Boukli has the continental pedigree to make that task difficult: she is a five-time European champion and added another European title earlier this year.

Spain’s Laura Martinez Abelenda has also put together a steady campaign, taking European bronze before reaching the podium in Ulaanbaatar and the final in Lausanne. Russia’s Sabina Giliazova enters after winning the Hungary Grand Slam last month, having also claimed European silver in April.

The -48kg category brings together a reigning world champion and several in-form European challengers.

At -52kg, Japan’s Abe Uta is the title holder, but Italy’s Odette Giuffrida will be determined to return to the top after winning the world title in 2024. Giuffrida has remained consistently close to the medals in 2026, winning in Dushanbe and collecting further medals in Ulaanbaatar, Tashkent, Budapest and at the European Championships.

The European challenge in this category also includes Spain’s seeded pair Ayumi Leiva Sanchez and Ariane Toro Soler, alongside Germany’s Mascha Ballhaus. With Krasniqi absent, the route through the division could look different for several of the contenders.

Georgia’s Eteri Liparteliani is one of the standout names at -57kg. At the previous World Championships, she became Georgia’s first female world judo champion, and she now has the opportunity to defend her crown just over 500 kilometres from home.

Her form has backed up her status. Liparteliani followed European gold on home soil with victory in Lausanne, giving her two major titles and the top world ranking ahead of Baku. France’s Sarah-Leonie Cysique, the Olympic silver medallist, is expected to be among her key European rivals after taking silver in Ulaanbaatar and Lausanne this season, following a world podium finish in 2025.

Baku’s women’s divisions will feature familiar champions, returning title hopefuls and European athletes with plenty to prove on the world stage.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union