Yuna Aoki takes the lead in France as figure skating Grand Prix season begins

ANGERS, France (AP) — Yuna Aoki took an unexpected lead at the start of the figure skating Grand Prix season on Friday, before Olympic bronze medalist Ami Nakai made a significant error. Aoki, to the tune of "Can’t Take My Eyes Off You," demonstrated her prowess in the short program, scoring 76.13 points, which is nearly five points higher than her personal best from the previous season.

She started with a shaky triple lutz-triple loop combination, but managed to score nearly five points more than her prior high. Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia followed with a score of 72.63. Ami Nakai, after botching her opening triple axel and converting it into a non-scoring single, still managed to place third with a score of 70.66.

Nina Pinzarrone of Georgia finished seventh with a score of 63.19. In the team event, Olympic ice dance champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron led their first competition of the season, scoring 82.56 for their Spanish-themed rhythm dance to Rosalia's music, despite a one-point deduction for a time violation. The U.S. team of Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were .07 points behind in third ahead of the free dance on Saturday. The men’s and pairs competitions commence on Saturday.