Pauline Courtois arrived in Rungsted with a target on her back as defending Women's Match Racing World Champion, and she wasted no time justifying her status. The French skipper swept through Round Robin 1 at the Royal Danish Yacht Club without a single defeat, winning all seven of her matches to lead the opening stage of the KDY Women's Match Race, the first event on the 2026 Women's World Match Racing Tour calendar.
Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team have given the rest of the eight-boat fleet every reason to be concerned. A flawless record after the opening round robin is about as strong a statement as any skipper can make, and it puts the French team firmly in front heading into the second phase of racing.
The performance generating the most interest belongs to Kristine Mauritzen. Racing on home water at her own club, the Royal Danish Yacht Club, the Danish skipper posted a 5–2 record to sit second overall at 71 per cent after Round Robin 1. Her two defeats came against Courtois and Vogelius, but she answered with victories over Östling, Aartsen, Carlsson, D'Amodio and Olesen. For a sailor who did not advance past the qualifying round at the 2025 Worlds, that is a notably stronger showing, and the familiarity of the Øresund conditions appears to be working in her favour.
Anna Östling and Lea Vogelius are sharing third place, both recording four wins from seven races for a 57 per cent win rate. Östling's WINGS Sailing Team has a strong connection to this event, having won the KDY title in 2022, 2023 and again in 2024, so the Swedish skipper will not be discouraged by a modest opening round. The two third-placed skippers split their head-to-head meeting, with Östling taking that race. "It was a little up and down for us," Östling said. "But we had a good day, and we would rather mistakes early on in the event. We still have plenty of racing to go."
Denmark has three representatives in the field, and all three finished in the top five after the opening day. Mauritzen and Vogelius are joined by Louise K Olesen, who sits fifth at 43 per cent following wins over both Vogelius and D'Amodio. The strength of the Danish contingent across the standings suggests that local knowledge of the Øresund is a genuine advantage at this event.
Further down the standings, Julia Aartsen and Martina Carlsson are tied in sixth place with matching 2–5 records for 29 per cent. Julia D'Amodio is at the foot of the table with just one win from seven starts. The competition format requires a complete double round robin before the field is cut to semi-finals and a final, meaning Round Robin 2, scheduled to begin on Saturday 9 May, gives every team in the lower half of the draw a clear path back into contention.
Round Robin 1 standings
| # | Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Courtois FRA | 7 | 0 | 100% |
| 2 | Kristine Mauritzen DEN | 5 | 2 | 71% |
| 3 | Anna Östling SWE | 4 | 3 | 57% |
| 4 | Lea Vogelius DEN | 4 | 3 | 57% |
| 5 | Louise K Olesen DEN | 3 | 4 | 43% |
| 6 | Julia Aartsen NED | 2 | 5 | 29% |
| 6 | Martina Carlsson SWE | 2 | 5 | 29% |
| 8 | Julia D'Amodio FRA | 1 | 6 | 14% |
Head-to-head matrix — Round Robin 1
| PC | KM | AÖ | LV | LKO | JA | MC | JDA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pauline Courtois PC | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kristine Mauritzen KM | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Anna Östling AÖ | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lea Vogelius LV | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Louise K Olesen LKO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Julia Aartsen JA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Martina Carlsson MC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Julia D'Amodio JDA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
2026 entries
| # | Skipper | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Courtois | FRA |
| 2 | Anna Östling | SWE |
| 3 | Lea Vogelius | DEN |
| 4 | Julia Aartsen | NED |
| 5 | Martina Carlsson | SWE |
| 6 | Julia D'Amodio | FRA |
| 7 | Kristine Mauritzen | DEN |
| 8 | Louise K Olesen | DEN |
The Women's World Match Racing Tour was established in 2022, building on the foundation laid by the WIM Series, the Women's International Match Racing Series, which had developed a strong international following for female match racing over the years. Relaunched under a new name and an expanded purpose, the tour operates as the world's first and only professional sailing series for women, with a focus on strengthening match racing pathways for female sailors at all levels and cultivating the next generation of world champions in the discipline.
