Tatsuya Tsuboi (壷井 達也, Tsuboi Tatsuya, born December 17, 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2024 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2023 World University Games silver medalist and 2022 Coupe du Printemps silver medalist. He is also the 2022 World Junior bronze medalist and 2018–19 Japan junior national champion.
| Tatsuya Tsuboi | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tsuboi at the 2019 World Junior Championships | ||||||
| Native name | 壷井 達也 | |||||
| Born | December 17, 2002 Okazaki, Japan | |||||
| Hometown | Hyogo | |||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||
| Country |  Japan | |||||
| Coach | Sonoko Nakano Mitsuko Graham Sei Kawahara | |||||
| Skating club | Sysmex Corporation | |||||
| Began skating | 2009 | |||||
| Medal record | ||||||
| ||||||
Personal life
editTatsuya Tsuboi was born in Okazaki, Aichi.[1] As of 2022, he is a student at Kobe University, studying in the International Human Sciences Department.[2]
Career
editEarly career
editTsuboi began to skate at the age of 7.
After making his international junior debut at the 2017 edition of the Coupe du Printemps toward the end of the 2016–17 season, Tsuboi made his Junior Grand Prix debut the following autumn, placing fifth at both the 2017 JGP Belarus and 2017 JGP Italy. After winning the bronze medal at the 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships, he finished thirteenth at the senior level. He returned to the Coupe du Printemps, this time winning gold.[3]
Tsuboi did not compete on the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix, but won the junior silver medal at the Asian Open Trophy. He won gold at the 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships, and finished seventh at the senior level, as a result of which he was assigned to compete at the 2019 World Junior Championships. Tsuboi finished fourteenth there.[3] Then, he was invited to skate in the gala at the 2019 World Team Trophy as the reigning Japan junior national champion.
2021–2022 season: Junior World bronze
editAfter appearing only domestically over the following two seasons, partially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsuboi became more active in the 2021–22 season, even though Japan opted not to assign skaters to the Junior Grand Prix.[4] He was the silver medalist at the 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships, and placed ninth at the senior edition. These placements earned him an assignment to the 2022 World Junior Championships. Also given precursor assignments to the Bavarian Open and the Coupe du Printemps, he won gold at the former at the junior level and silver at latter at the senior level.[3]
The World Junior Championships were originally scheduled for March in Sofia. However, as a result of both the Omicron variant and the Russo-Ukrainian War, they could not be held in their original location, and were moved to Tallinn in April. As well, the International Skating Union banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing, significantly altering the figure skating field.[5][6][7] Tsuboi finished fifth in the short program with a new personal best score.[8] He was third in the free skate, rising to third overall to win the bronze medal.[9]
2022–2023 season: Senior debut
editMoving to the senior level permanently, Tsuboi was assigned to make his Grand Prix debut at the MK John Wilson Trophy, where he finished fifth.[3] At his second event, the Grand Prix of Espoo, he was fifth in the short program but rose to fourth after the free skate, where he set new personal bests in that segment and overall. He described nothing but "happiness" with the results.[10][11]
Tsuboi finished ninth at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, and was subsequently assigned to compete at the 2023 Winter World University Games.[12] He won the silver medal.[13]
2023–2024 season
editGiven two assignments on the Grand Prix, Tsuboi finished eighth at the 2023 Skate America and ninth at the 2023 NHK Trophy.[14][15] He went on to finish seventh at the 2023–24 Japan Championships before closing his season with a silver medal win at the 2024 Challenge Cup.[16][3]
2024–2025 season
editTsuboi started the season by finishing fifth at the 2024 Asian Open Trophy. Selected as a host pick at the 2024 NHK Trophy, Tsuboi placed third in both the short program and free skate, scoring personal bests in all competition segments. He would walk away with the bronze medal overall.[17][18] Pleased with this result, Tsuboi said in an interview afterwards, "I didn't even think that I would end up third. With the short and free program and free skating, I knew I had to do everything I can, put my best out there and give it my all. The day in day out efforts I've been making have paid off. This is my first podium in the senior Grand Prix series, so it's been a great confidence booster."[19]
Programs
editCompetitive highlights
editGP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
2016–17 season to present
edit| International[3] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| GP Finland | 4th | ||||||||
| GP NHK Trophy | 9th | 3rd | |||||||
| GP Skate America | 8th | ||||||||
| GP Wilson Trophy | 5th | ||||||||
| Asian Open Trophy | 5th | ||||||||
| Challenge Cup | 8th | 2nd | |||||||
| Printemps | 2nd | ||||||||
| Universiade | 2nd | ||||||||
| International: Junior[3] | |||||||||
| Junior Worlds | 14th | 3rd | |||||||
| JGP Belarus | 5th | ||||||||
| JGP Italy | 5th | ||||||||
| Asian Open | 2nd | ||||||||
| Bavarian Open | 1st | ||||||||
| Printemps | 2nd | 1st | |||||||
| National[3][27][28] | |||||||||
| Japan | 10th | 13th | 7th | WD | 9th | 9th | 7th | ||
| Japan Junior | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 7th | 2nd | |||
Earlier seasons
edit| Event | 15–16 |
|---|---|
| National[27][28] | |
| Japan Junior | 14th |
Detailed results
edit| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 251.52 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 85.02 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 48.47 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 37.28 | 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy | |
| Free skating | TSS | 166.50 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 89.28 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 78.62 | 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo |
Senior level
edit| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 2–6, 2024 |  2024 Asian Open Trophy
|
2 | 82.37 | 7 | 122.61 | 5 | 204.98 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy
|
3 | 85.02 | 3 | 166.50 | 3 | 251.52 |
| 2023–24 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 22–25, 2024 | 2024 Challenge Cup | 1 85.80 |
2 169.01 |
2 254.81 |
| December 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 7 85.85 |
7 166.49 |
7 252.34 |
| November 24–26, 2023 | 2023 NHK Trophy | 12 64.63 |
5 151.99 |
9 216.62 |
| October 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 9 72.57 |
8 144.41 |
8 216.98 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 23–26, 2023 | 2023 Challenge Cup | 12 67.16 |
5 145.18 |
8 212.34 |
| January 12–22, 2023 | 2023 Winter World University Games | 2 84.48 |
2 159.34 |
2 243.82 |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 11 74.84 |
9 146.33 |
9 221.17 |
| November 25–27, 2022 | 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo | 5 78.82 |
4 166.08 |
4 244.90 |
| November 11–13, 2022 | 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy | 7 76.75 |
5 149.38 |
5 226.13 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 12 77.31 |
8 157.90 |
9 235.21 |
| 2018–19 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 20–24, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships | 11 69.95 |
5 144.92 |
7 214.87 |
| 2017–18 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 21–23, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Championships | 14 63.35 |
11 135.36 |
13 198.71 |
| 2016–17 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 22–25, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Championships | 15 59.49 |
8 127.54 |
10 187.03 |
Junior level
edit| 2021–22 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| April 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 5 79.15 |
3 154.67 |
3 233.82 |
| March 18–20, 2022 | 2022 Coupe du Printemps | 2 77.35 |
2 148.29 |
2 225.64 |
| January 18–22, 2022 | 2021 Bavarian Open | 1 81.92 |
1 156.42 |
1 238.34 |
| November 19–21, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships | 1 81.05 |
2 146.55 |
2 227.60 |
| 2020–21 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 21–23, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships | 4 73.18 |
10 107.38 |
7 180.56 |
| 2019–20 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 15–17, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships | 6 68.83 |
3 123.94 |
4 192.77 |
| 2018–19 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 4–10, 2019 | 2019 World Junior Championships | 20 62.59 |
10 133.29 |
14 195.88 |
| November 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships | 2 78.23 |
2 144.56 |
1 222.79 |
| August 1–5, 2018 | 2018 Asian Open Trophy | 2 50.87 |
2 117.14 |
2 168.01 |
| 2017–18 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 16–18, 2018 | 2018 Coupe du Printemps | 1 64.43 |
1 131.40 |
1 195.83 |
| November 24–26, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships | 5 63.53 |
2 125.62 |
3 189.15 |
| October 11–14, 2017 | 2017 JGP Italy | 6 65.98 |
5 132.46 |
5 198.44 |
| September 20–24, 2017 | 2017 JGP Belarus | 5 66.49 |
5 118.70 |
5 185.19 |
| 2016–17 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 10–12, 2017 | 2017 Coupe du Printemps | 2 51.72 |
2 104.63 |
2 156.35 |
| November 23–25, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships | 6 56.07 |
5 121.55 |
5 177.62 |
| 2015–16 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 21–23, 2015 | 2015–16 Japan Junior Championships | 14 48.89 |
14 96.69 |
14 145.58 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019.
- ^ "壷井達也さんが全日本フィギュアスケート選手権に出場します". Kobe University. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Competition Results: Tatsuya TSUBOI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020.
- ^ "2021 Junior Grand Prix Series". International Figure Skating. July 5, 2021.
- ^ "ISU Statement on the Ukrainian crisis – Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus". International Skating Union. March 1, 2022.
- ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 allotted to Tallinn (EST)". International Skating Union. March 4, 2022.
- ^ "2022 World Junior Championships". International Figure Skating.
- ^ Slater, Paula (April 14, 2022). "USA's Ilia Malinin sets record at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
- ^ Slater, Paula (April 16, 2022). "USA's Ilia Malinin takes gold in Tallinn". Golden Skate.
- ^ "Malinin (USA) seizes gold in Espoo and leaps right into Grand Prix Final". International Skating Union. November 26, 2022.
- ^ Slater, Paula (November 26, 2022). "Malinin pockets another gold in Espoo". Golden Skate.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (December 27, 2022). "Shoma Uno is Unhappy with Team Selection Process for World Championships". Japan Forward.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (January 18, 2023). "Mihara and Yamamoto Lead Japan Medal Rush at the Winter World University Games". Japan Forward.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (October 24, 2023). "Shun Sato Earns Third-Place Finish at Skate America". Japan Forward. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (November 26, 2023). "Yuma Kagiyama reclaims NHK Trophy title". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ Di Sanzio, Chloé (December 23, 2023). "Shoma Uno captures sixth national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ "Yuna Aoki and Tatsuya Tsuboi 🇯🇵 were added to the #GPFigure #NHKTrophy lineup". Instagram. Golden Skate. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Tatsuya Tsuboi". Skating Scores. Skating Scores. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Tatsuya Tsuboi JPN 166.50 PB/251.52". Instagram. Golden Skate. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2024/2025 (1st SP)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2024/2025 (2nd SP)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022.
- ^ a b "壷井 達也 ｜ スケート∞リンク ～フジスケ～". フジテレビ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Tatsuya TSUBOI: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b "Tatsuya TSUBOI". rinkresults.com.
- ^ a b "壷井 達也" [TSUBOI Tatsuya] (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019.