🇮🇹 FAVARETTO DOMINATES ALL-ITALIAN FINAL TO CAPTURE MAIDEN WORLD FOIL TITLE
HONG KONG — 27 JULY 2026
Italy’s World number two Martina Favaretto capped off a dominant season on the sixth day of the 2026 World Championships, capturing her first individual World title in women’s foil. Competing at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, Favaretto delivered a supreme tactical display in an all-Italian gold medal clash against legendary teammate Arianna Errigo, surging to a convincing 15–7 victory.
The golden triumph marks a spectacular career milestone for Favaretto after capturing individual bronze at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships. It also tops off a remarkable season that saw her win World Cup gold in Istanbul, Cairo and Palma de Mallorca, alongside bronze medals at the Lima Grand Prix and Busan World Cup.
While Errigo added a remarkable eleventh individual World Championship medal to her legendary career resume, Ukraine's Alina Poloziuk and Japan's Ueno Yuka both made history by capturing their respective countries' first ever individual women's foil World Championship medals.
Path to the Podium
Martina Favaretto (World number two) put together an untouchable march through the draw, conceding no more than five touches in any bout leading up to the semi-finals. She opened her direct elimination campaign with a 15–5 win over Great Britain's Amelie Tsang before steamrolling Russia's Alia Mamedova 15–4 in the last 32. Favaretto continued her relentless pace by defeating Canada's Jessica Guo 15–4 and routing Canada's Nadia Hayes 15–3 in the quarter-finals. She reached the final with a hard-fought 14–11 semi-final victory over Japan's Ueno before out-classing Errigo in the gold medal match.
Arianna Errigo (World number five) showcased her timeless, world-class consistency to reach the final and secure her eleventh individual World Championship medal. The two-time World Champion and London 2012 Olympic silver medallist opened with a 15–9 victory over Macau's Ku Hio Lam before turning aside China's Fu Yingying 15–10 and Korea's Park Jihee 15–6. Errigo locked down her podium berth by defeating her World number six teammate Anna Cristino 15–7 in the quarter-finals. She then stormed into the gold medal bout with a commanding 15–7 semi-final win over Ukraine's Poloziuk before taking home the silver medal, adding to the European Championship, Istanbul World Cup and Turin Grand Prix silvers she won earlier in the season.
Alina Poloziuk (World number 45) provided an extraordinary breakthrough for Ukrainian fencing, navigating a formidable draw to claim Ukraine's first ever World Championship medal in women's foil. After opening with a 15–6 win over Spain's Maria Marino, Poloziuk routed China's Huang Qianqian 15–5 and edged Moldova's Adeline Senic 10–9 in the round of 16. She secured her historic bronze medal with a magnificent 15–9 quarter-final upset against World number one Martina Batini of Italy before falling to Errigo in the semi-finals.
Ueno Yuka (World number three) achieved a historic milestone of her own, securing Japan's first ever World Championship medal in women's foil. The 2026 Asian Champion and Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medallist launched her direct elimination run by dispatching Ukraine's Dariia Myroniuk 15–6 and defeating Hong Kong's Leung Janelle 15–3. Ueno demonstrated exceptional clutch skill in the late stages, holding off the United States' Jaelyn Liu 9–8 in the last 16 before edging Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Lauren Scruggs of the United States 15–13 in a thriller of a quarter-final.
Full results are here.
