The Paris 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series opens on Friday, 9 October, with eight Olympic Kyorugi titles to be decided over three days at Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan in Levallois-Perret.
Emir Hamdan
Paris hosts the final series stop from 9–11 October, with Simone Alessio returning at +80kg, Maria Clara Pacheco chasing a third straight title and Vito Dell’Aquila absent despite regaining both −58kg ranking leads.
The Paris 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series opens on Friday, 9 October, with eight Olympic Kyorugi titles to be decided over three days at Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan in Levallois-Perret.
The announced field of 253 athletes includes Maria Clara Pacheco, seeking a third consecutive women’s −57kg series title, and reigning Olympic −67kg champion Viviana Márton. Paris is the final series stop after Rome and Muju, before November’s Grand Prix Final in Astana.
Simone Alessio returns to Paris for the men’s +80kg competition. Vito Dell’Aquila leads both the world and Olympic −58kg rankings, but the Italian federation has confirmed that he will miss the event.
Paris 2024 −80kg bronze medallist Simone ALESSIO returns on Friday as Italy’s sole Kyorugi entrant, competing at +80kg.
Already a +80kg Grand Prix Challenge winner in Charlotte in June 2025, Alessio seeks his first series gold of 2026 after taking silver in Rome, where Rafail Aiukaev won their final 2–1.
Muju +80kg champion Seif EISSA of Egypt is also among the Paris entries. The Egyptian beat Alessio 2–1 in the −87kg world championship final in Wuxi in October 2025.
Tokyo Olympic champion Vito DELL'AQUILA will miss Friday’s −58kg competition despite leading both the world and Olympic rankings in the division.
The Italian added September’s Polish Open title at −63kg to his Grand Prix gold in Rome and bronze in Muju.
The Italian federation confirmed his Paris absence on 6 October, attributing it to the new ranking calculation system. It identified the Astana Final, scheduled for 27–29 November, as his next major target.
Saturday’s women’s −57kg competition gives Brazil’s Maria Clara PACHECO the chance to complete three consecutive series wins.
Pacheco defeated Korea’s reigning Olympic champion Yu-Jin KIM 2–0 in both the Rome and Muju finals. In Muju, she took the rounds 5–0 and 8–2.
Both are listed for Paris. Kim has reached the final at each previous stop; Pacheco has denied her gold both times. A third meeting would require both to advance through their respective paths.
Hungary’s Paris 2024 Olympic champion Viviana MARTON is among Saturday’s women’s −67kg entries, arriving with this year’s Rome Grand Prix title after a 2–0 final win over Aleksandra Perišić.
Perišić was also her opponent in the Paris Olympic final.
Türkiye returns to the Grand Prix series in Paris after missing the Muju stop in September. Berkay ERER, who won Rome’s men’s −68kg title with a 2–0 final victory over Amir Vykov, is entered for Saturday.
Paris 2024 +67kg bronze medallist Nafia Kus AYDIN returns for Friday’s competition after taking Polish Open gold at +73kg in September. Rome Grand Prix bronze medallist Sude Yaren UZUNCAVDAR is also entered at +67kg.
Hatice Kubra ILGUN is listed in Saturday’s −57kg field alongside Pacheco and Kim.
France’s Magda Wiet HENIN, a European bronze medallist at −73kg in May, is entered in Saturday’s women’s −67kg competition, with Cyrian RAVET also on the programme at men’s −68kg.
Ravet returns to the series in front of a home crowd after a 2–1 loss to David Valdes Vázquez in Muju’s round of 32.
Rome champion Juan Antonio Milan CANOVAS of Spain and Muju winner Raman TURAVINAU of Belarus are both among the announced men’s −80kg entries.
Their division closes the programme on Sunday, alongside women’s −49kg, where China’s Xiaolu Fu arrives after winning in Muju.
The organizer’s published Kyorugi schedule is:
| Date | Divisions | Semi Finals, finals and medal ceremonies |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 9 October | Women’s +67kg; men’s −58kg and +80kg | 17:30–20:30 |
| Saturday, 10 October | Women’s −57kg and −67kg; men’s −68kg | 17:30–20:30 |
| Sunday, 11 October | Women’s −49kg; men’s −80kg | 16:00–18:00 |
All times are local to Paris (CEST, UTC+2). Preliminary competition is scheduled to start at 09:00 each day.
Watch live and follow the Courts, brackets and athletes on TAEKWONDO.TV’s Paris event page. Livestream links and competition data are updated as they become available.