Rungsted, Denmark (Friday 8 May) The 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour kicked off yesterday in Rungsted, Denmark on the opening day of the KDY Women’s Match Race, the first of five events on the 2026 Women’s world tour season. The Denmark event is hosted by the Royal Danish Yacht Club.

Featuring 8 teams from France, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, the four-day event format will see each of the teams completing a double round robin qualifying stage before advancing to the semi-final and finals.

Defending Women’s Match Racing World Champion Pauline Courtois from France and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team finished their first day undefeated on five wins from five races, setting an early pace as favourite for the Denmark event.

2024 winner in Denmark, Sweden’s Anna Östling and her WINGS Sailing Team had a slower start to their event posting three wins and two losses, but the event is still in its early stages and Östling and team have traditionally been very strong in the DS37 boats, winning the 2022 and 2023 events.

“It was a little up and down for us” added Östling. “But we had a good day, and we would rather mistakes early on in the event - we still have plenty of racing to go.”

Local team the ‘Seagulls’ skippered by Kristine Mauritzen from Denmark is using every bit of their home advantage and knowledge of the DS37 boats, posting four wins in the first day, just one point behind Courtois.