The women's singles figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 15 and 17 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, and featured 30 skaters from 18 nations. Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, while Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the bronze. The competition was overshadowed by the controversy that arose when it was reported that, although Kamila Valieva of Russia had tested positive for a banned substance, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that she be allowed to compete in the event pending a formal outcome of their investigation. Since Valieva originally finished in fourth place, her subsequent disqualification did not affect the awarding of the medals for this event.

Background In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program from at least late 2011 through February 2014, when Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi. On 9 December 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its doping scheme. Under a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December 2020, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to compete as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships for the next two years. On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics.

The women's single skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 15 and 17 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The three women selected by the Russian Olympic Committee – Kamila Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova, and Alexandra Trusova – were expected to dominate the Olympics. In addition to having won the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships, fifteen-year-old Valieva had dominated the season by winning every competition she entered. She broke the world records in the free skate and overall total at the 2021 Finlandia Trophy, bested those scores at the 2021 Skate Canada International, and bested them again at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, where she also set a new world record in the short program. Seventeen-year-old Trusova, known as the "jumping fairy", was the first woman to successfully perform a quadruple Lutz, quadruple toe loop, and quadruple flip in international competition, while seventeen-year-old Shcherbakova had won the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships. Karen Chen of the United States likened women's figure skating to a two-tier competition, with the Russian women competing at levels beyond everyone else.

Qualification

Twenty-four quota spots in women's singles were awarded based on the results at the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships. An additional six quota spots were earned at the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy.

Kamila Valieva controversy

The medal ceremony for the figure skating team event, originally scheduled for 8 February, was delayed over what International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams described as a situation that required legal consultation with the International Skating Union (ISU). Media outlets reported on 9 February that the issue was a positive drug test, administered in December 2021, for trimetazidine by Kamila Valieva, which was officially confirmed on 11 February. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), under suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for hiding the positive doping results of Russian athletes for years, cleared Valieva to compete on 9 February, a day after the December test results were released. The IOC and the ISU appealed that decision.

On 14 February, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Valieva be allowed to compete in the women's event on the grounds that preventing her from competing "would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances", though her gold medal in the team event was still under consideration. The favorable decision from the Court was in part due to her age, as minor athletes were subject to different rules than adult athletes. As a result, the IOC announced that should Valieva finish in the top three, no medal ceremony would be held until the investigation was over. To allow for the possibility that her results might be disqualified, the IOC asked the ISU to expand the qualifying field for the free skate by one to twenty-five, contingent upon Valieva being one of the top twenty-four skaters to advance to the free skate.

Required performance elements Women performed their short programs on 15 February. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, the short program had to include the following elements: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.

The twenty-five highest-scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skating, which they performed on 17 February. The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes, and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one a flying spin, and one a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.

Judging

Skaters were judged according to the required technical elements of their program (such as jumps and spins), as well as the overall presentation of their program, based on five program components (skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and musical interpretation). Each technical element in a figure skating performance was assigned a predetermined base point value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −5 to +5 based on the quality of its execution. Each Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to +5 was assigned a value as indicated on the Scale of Values. For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.00 points, and a GOE of +3 was worth 2.40 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of +3 earned 10.40 points. The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a Total Elements Score. At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on the five aforementioned program components and assigned each a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the chart below; the results were added together to generate a total Program Component Score.

+Program component factoring Discipline Short program Free skate Women 0.80 1.60 Deductions were applied for certain violations, such as time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The Total Elements Score and Program Component Score were then added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater.

Results

Code key

Short program The women's short program was held on 15 February. Kamila Valieva of Russia originally finished in first place, scoring 82.16 points, despite stumbling on her triple Axel. Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, also of Russia, finished in second and fourth places, respectively. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan finished in third place. Valieva's results in the competition were eventually voided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2024.

Although the scandal surrounding Valieva dominated the news cycle, the other skaters focused on their own performances and avoided social media. "It's not easy being here," said Mariah Bell of the United States. "It's a tough situation for everyone." "I concentrated on myself and it didn't matter what was going on around me," commented Olga Mikutina of Austria. Lindsay van Zundert of the Netherlands stated: "It's just me, my skates, and my program and nothing else." With the possibility that Valieva's score might eventually be stricken, the International Olympic Committee allowed the top twenty-five skaters to advance to the free skate, as opposed to the usual twenty-four.

+Women's short program results Skater Nation 1 80.20 42.87 37.33 9.14 9.18 9.46 9.43 9.46 2 79.84 43.22 36.62 9.29 8.93 9.21 9.18 9.18 3 74.60 40.12 35.48 8.75 8.71 8.96 8.96 8.96 4 73.51 39.53 33.98 8.61 8.25 8.54 8.50 8.57 5 70.34 36.80 33.54 8.43 8.21 8.46 8.46 8.36 6 70.09 36.09 34.00 8.50 8.29 8.43 8.61 8.68 7 69.50 36.85 32.65 8.14 8.00 8.32 8.21 8.14 8 67.78 35.27 32.51 8.21 7.96 8.21 8.14 8.11 9 65.40 34.43 30.97 7.71 7.50 7.79 7.75 7.96 10 65.38 33.43 32.95 8.25 8.07 8.25 8.25 8.36 11 64.31 35.74 28.57 7.14 6.86 7.29 7.18 7.25 12 64.11 31.24 33.87 8.50 8.32 8.36 8.61 8.54 13 63.13 33.01 30.12 7.50 7.25 7.61 7.57 7.71 14 62.69 33.66 30.03 7.75 7.32 7.46 7.54 7.46 15 61.82 32.43 29.39 7.36 7.11 7.54 7.36 7.36 16 61.46 32.72 28.74 7.18 7.04 7.25 7.25 7.21 17 61.14 32.54 28.60 7.14 6.96 7.32 7.21 7.11 18 61.06 32.03 29.03 7.39 6.96 7.32 7.29 7.32 19 60.53 29.61 30.92 7.71 7.54 7.75 7.82 7.82 20 59.55 30.89 29.66 7.32 7.25 7.46 7.46 7.57 21 59.24 32.12 27.12 6.71 6.46 7.00 6.86 6.86 22 59.16 32.36 26.80 6.64 6.57 6.79 6.79 6.71 23 59.08 28.42 30.66 7.68 7.36 7.68 7.75 7.86 24 56.97 27.79 29.18 7.32 7.04 7.29 7.36 7.46 25 54.51 26.11 28.40 6.68 6.75 7.29 7.32 7.46 26 53.44 26.37 27.07 6.82 6.61 6.75 6.86 6.79 27 52.54 26.20 27.34 6.71 6.71 6.86 7.00 6.89 28 49.93 22.78 27.15 6.86 6.57 6.79 6.82 6.89 29 48.68 24.04 25.64 6.61 6.29 6.25 6.57 6.32 82.16 44.51 37.65 9.50 9.29 9.39 9.46 9.43

Free skating The women's free skating was held on 17 February. Kamila Valieva made a series of errors in her free skate that resulted in her finishing in fourth place overall. "That's the most mistakes we've ever seen Kamila make in a free skate," commented Johnny Weir on the NBC broadcast. Coach Eteri Tutberidze could be heard berating Valieva after she left the ice. Anna Shcherbakova ended up finishing in first place and winning the gold medal, while Alexandra Trusova finished in second place and Kaori Sakamoto finished in third. Valieva was in tears, while Trusova could be heard shouting, "I hate this sport; I won't go onto the ice again", in response to not winning the gold medal; with Johnny Weir providing translation from Russian to English in real time. Shcherbakova was alone when she learned she had won the gold medal. "You win the Olympics and you can't even celebrate," Weir commented.

Anna Shcherbakova successfully landed both of her quadruple jumps, delivering a clean program that earned her a total of 255.95 points and the gold medal. Alexandra Trusova landed five quadruple jumps, but still finished in second place. She later clarified her displeasure by saying that she was happy with her performance, but not with the judges' scores. Kaori Sakamoto was also crying, but tears of joy. "I don't have the big jumps as others would have, which is a big handicap," said Sakamoto. "That means I had to have perfect elements."

Kamila Valieva's fourth-place results were eventually annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and all skaters originally placed below her moved up one spot.