It will be the Grand Slam of Paris to officially open the judo World Tour in 2026, with the French capital hosting one of the most prestigious tournaments on the international scene on the tatami of the Accor Arena in Bercy from Saturday 7 to Sunday 8 February. Registration is expected to close in a week (January 23), but to date there are already almost 500 athletes on the entry list for the Parisian event.
Among these there are also 13 Italian judokas, who should therefore make their seasonal debut in Paris while waiting to focus on the main events of the year such as the European Championships (16-19 April in Tbilisi) and above all the World Championships (4-11 October) which will already award important points for the Olympic ranking towards Los Angeles 2028 (the qualification period will begin in June).
The two reigning world champions are currently registered for the Parisian Grand Slam Assunta Scutto (48 kg) and Alice Bellandiwho is also the Paris 2024 Olympic champion in the -78 kg. The entry list also includes other big names in the blue movement such as Odette Giuffrida (52 kg), Manuel Lombardo (73 kg), Giovanni Esposito (73 kg) and Gennaro Pirelli (100 kg).
The rest of the Italian troop is currently made up of Andrea Carlino (60 kg), Valerio Accogli (66 kg), Tiziano Falcone (90 kg) in the men’s field e Francesca Milani (48 kg), Kenya Perna (52 kg), Carlotta Avanzato (63 kg), Irene Pedrotti (70 kg) feminine.
