Teams announced for the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship

World Sailing is pleased to announce the 12 skippers and teams who will be competing at the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship (30 September 2026 to 4 October 2026), hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club.

This invitation-only event will see the world’s best women’s match-racing teams — representing seven nations and ten yacht clubs — compete in San Francisco Bay’s natural sailing amphitheatre.

“St. Francis Yacht Club has been fortunate to have hosted other recent high-profile women’s match-racing events, including stops on the 2023 and 2025 Women’s World Match Racing Tour and last year’s US Women’s Match Racing Championship,” said Susan Ruhne, StFYC’s 2026 Commodore. “Fall is a prime time to race on San Francisco Bay, and we believe this year’s world championship will deliver top-level competition at our incredible, spectator-friendly venue.”

StFYC's Race Director Felix Weidling agreed, noting that all 12 competing teams are in the Top 18 on World Sailing’s Women's Match Racing Rankings.

“When you bring together sailors of this calibre, you can expect extremely competitive racing and very few easy matches,” said Weidling. “Women’s sailing deserves top visibility, recognition and support across our sport, and hosting the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship is St. Francis Yacht Club’s way of contributing to that mission while showcasing some of the sport’s most talented sailors.”

The 12 international skippers invited include the defending 2025 world champion, the 10 highest-ranked skippers on World Sailing’s Match Racing ranking list, plus one skipper from the hosting country, selected by StFYC and US Sailing.

Pauline Courtois (FRA) and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team has won the last five consecutive World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championships, automatically earning them an invitation to defend their title. Courtois currently occupies the top slot on World Sailing’s Women’s Match Racing Rankings. She represents France’s Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf and will be racing with Maëlenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker and Laurane Mettraux.

Courtois’s squad won’t be the only French team on the starting line.

Julia D’Amodio (FRA) and her Shark Caviar Team finished sixth at the 2025 World Championship, and they are currently eighth on the 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour (WWMRT). D’Amodio is representing the Pôle Inshore Sud and will be racing with her crew of Alice Chiappori, Lilou Ruat and Roxane Perrot.

Lucie Gout (FRA) and her L4C Racing Team finished in fourth place at the 2025 French National Women’s Match Racing Championships, and Gout is currently ranked 18th by World Sailing. Gout is representing France’s APCC Voile Sportive and will be competing with crew Flavie Foucher, Clarisse Baissac and Lomane Valade.

Four other European teams will also be competing.

Anna Östling (SWE) and her WINGS squad are currently topping the WWMRT’s 2026 leaderboard, having finished fifth at last year’s World Championship. Östling represents Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club and will be racing with Annika Carlunger, Linnéa Wennergren and Anna Holmdahl White.

Martina Carlsson (SWE) and her Beyond Racing Team finished in 11th place last year and are currently ranked second on the WWMRT. Carlsson also hails from Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club and will be racing on San Francisco Bay with Hanna Gaskell-Brown, Amanda Ljunggren and Klara Utterström.

After finishing eighth at the 2025 World Championship, Julia Aartsen (NED) and her Team Out of the Box have enjoyed a successful 2026 season. They currently sit in third place on the WWMRT’s leaderboard. Aartsen represents Royal Netherlands Yacht Club and will be racing with teammates Nerine Usman, Eva Asbeek Brusse and Ismene Usman.

Kristine Marie Mauritzen (DEN) and her Those Seagulls team finished in tenth place at the 2025 World Championship and are ninth on WWMRT’s leaderboard. Mauritzen is representing Royal Danish Yacht Club and will be racing with Sophia Hugo Jorgensen, Sofie Slotsgaard and Julia Toroi.

Two antipodean teams are also making trans-Pacific journeys to San Francisco.

Juliet Costanzo (AUS) and her Team Costanzo finished in fourth place in last year’s world championship and is ranked 14th by World Sailing. She will be representing Australia’s Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and competing with Stacey Jackson, Sarah Parker and Katie Spithill.

Megan Thomson (NZL) and her 2.0 Racing team finished in second place at the 2025 world championship and is tenth on WWMRT’s leaderboard. Thomson will be representing Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, racing with Maddie Rist and Tinka Visser; the team is dealing with a last-minute crew change so a fourth will be named soon.

Call it an embarrassment of riches for the Golden State, but all three American-flagged teams hail from California.

Allie Blecher (USA) and her Team BAAM! finished the 2025 WWMRT in seventh and currently occupy this same position on this year’s tour. Blecher, who is representing California Yacht Club, will be racing with teammates Evan Cahill, Rose Edwards and Aimee Famularo.

StFYC’s Lindsey Baab (USA) and her Fog Racing team finished the 2025 WWMRT in fifth and are currently sitting at 13th on both the tour’s 2026 standings and World Sailing’s rankings. Baab will be competing as the hosting country’s selected skipper alongside teammates Kate Shiber, Elena VandenBerg and Helen Lord.  

Nicole Breault (USA) and her Vela Racing Team won last year’s U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, was seventh at the 2025 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship and concluded the 2025 WWMRT in third. Breault is representing StFYC and is currently sitting in seventh place on World Sailing’s Women's Match Racing rankings; she will be racing with crewmembers Molly Carapiet, Hailey Thompson and Molly Vandemoer.

“This year’s group is very much influenced by the WWMRT,” said Breault of the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship’s entry list, noting that the WWMRT is stacked with active, top-of-their-game match racers. “I’m always happy when these awesome teams come to play in my backyard because I’m excited to take them on where I’m comfortable and where I have that home-water advantage,” she said. “But at the same time, having played against them, they always bring it, and it’s always a tough competition.”

Racing at the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship is set to begin on Thursday 1 October at 1030hrs PDT (1730hrs UTC).