Courtois wins Match Racing Worlds

Pauline Courtois and (FRA) captured her fifth consecutive Women’s Match Racing World Championship title at the 2025 edition in Chicago, IL. Held September 17-20 in the Tom 28, the penultimate stage of the 2025 Women’s World Match Racing Tour brought together 12 all-female teams representing seven nations.

Courtois and her crew Maëlenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, Sophie Faguet and Laurane Mettraux defeated New Zealand’s Megan Thomson 2-1. Denmark’s Lea Richter Vogelius finished third. Courtois previously won in 2021 (Cherbourg), 2022 (Auckland, NZL), 2023 (Middelfart, DEN), and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After winning the qualifying round-robin stage with ten wins and only one loss to Sweden’s Anna Östling, Courtois went on to defeat Julia Aarsten (NED) 2-0 in their quarter-final.

In the semi-finals, Courtois met resistance from Australia’s Juliet Costanzo who won the opening match of the first-to-three points match.

In the second semi-final match, Courtois was again under pressure from Costanzo, carrying a penalty from Costanzo in the pre-start. Courtois waited until the last moment of the race to make her penalty turn right on the finish line, resulting in a finish so close that a hearing by the jury was required to award the race win to Courtois.

In the third race, Courtois was able to stay ahead and take the crucial 2-1 win over Costanzo and advance to the final.

In a repeat of the 2024 Women’s Match Racing World Championship Final, Courtois faced Thomson in the final. Determined to not repeat their 2024 World Championship defeat (0-3), Thomson’s crew prepared for a tough match.

After Courtois took the first win in the first-to-two points final, Thomson was able to level the score 1-1 in the second race. But in the start of the deciding match, Thomson made two careless errors and was awarded two penalties from Courtois. It was all but game over for Thomson as they struggled to gain distance over Courtois, with Courtois crossing the line to take the world championship title.

“It’s just incredible to win again here in Chicago,” said Courtois. “Any world championship feels special, but this one was particularly challenging with the difficult [light] conditions. To defend the title for the fifth time with my team is a huge accomplishment for us, and I am so proud of them for this amazing win!”

The field also included Nicole Breault, five-time U.S. Women’s Match Racing Champion and runner-up at the 2025 Women’s World Match Racing Tour stages in San Francisco and Annapolis. Breault with her crew Molly Vandemoer, Dana Hayes, McKenzie Wilson, and Hailey Thompson were seventh in the qualifying stage, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Juliet Costanzo (AUS) who went on to finish third overall.

Tour information – Worlds detail – Results

The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing.

Source: WWMRT