Naoki Rossi (born 20 January 2007) is a Swiss figure skater. He is the 2023 World Junior silver medalist and 2023 JGP Hungary silver medalist.

Personal life

Rossi was born in Zollikerberg, Switzerland. Born to a Japanese mother and Italian-Swiss father, he speaks Japanese, German, English, French, and Italian. Formerly an avid violinist, he started playing the violin before becoming interested in skating, but stopped after moving to Italy.

He is a distant relative of Crown Princess Kiko through his mother, Rieko, who is a second cousin of the princess. Additionally, Rossi's great-great grandfather was Shirō Ikegami, who served as mayor of Osaka from 1913 to 1927, founded Tennōji Zoo in 1915, and opened Japan's first public daycare center in 1919.

In addition to teaching piano, Rossi's mother also teaches ballet with one of her former students being World champion Swiss figure skater, Stéphane Lambiel.

Rossi has cited Yuzuru Hanyu as his biggest figure skating inspiration.

Career

Early years

When Rossi was five years old, his mother brought him to a nearby ice rink to channel his energy, and he soon decided to continue skating. He competed in the advanced novice category during the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons.

In the 2020–21 season, at the age of thirteen, he relocated from Switzerland to Italy, deciding to train at the Young Goose Academy in Egna. His first junior international event was the NRW Trophy in November 2020.

2021–22 season

Rossi's ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut came in September 2021; he placed eighth in Košice, Slovakia, and then fourth in Gdańsk, Poland. He subsequently appeared at a number of other minor international events, and won the Swiss national junior title for the first time.

Ranked twelfth in the short progran and seventh in the free skate, Rossi finished ninth overall at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

2022–23 season

Again given two Junior Grand Prix assignments, Rossi finished eighth at the 2022 JGP Poland and fourth at the 2022 JGP Italy. He then made his international senior debut on the Challenger circuit, coming seventh at both the 2022 CS Ice Challenge and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup.

In the new year, Rossi competed at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival and won the bronze medal. He then won another bronze medal at the senior level at the Tallink Hotels Cup. Assigned to finish his season at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Rossi finished third in the short program with a new personal best score of 79.46, winning a bronze small medal. He was third in the free skate as well, but finished second overall and won the silver medal. This was the first Junior World medal for a Swiss skater since Sarah Meier's bronze medal in 2000, the first for a Swiss man since Richard Furrer also won bronze in 1977, and the highest colour of medal for any Swiss skater ever at the championships. Rossi said he was "actually speechless. I never expected to be on the podium."

Following the season, Rossi made a coaching change from Eva Martinek, Lorenzo Magri, Angelina Turenko, and Alisa Mikonsaari to Uwe Kagelmann and Nicole Bettega. He ultimately changed his training base from Egna, Italy to Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria.

2023–24 and 2024–25 season: Health struggles

After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2023 JGP Austria, Rossi achieved a better result at his second Junior Grand Prix assignment, the 2023 JGP Hungary. Third in the short program, he moved up to second place after the free skate to win the silver medal. Rossi missed the rest of the season due to illness.

In September 2024, it was announced that Rossi had switched coaches from Uwe Kagelmann and Nicole Bettega to Chafik Besseghier. He subsequently missed the 2024–25 figure skating season as well.

In June 2025, Rossi announced his intention to return to competitive figure skating the following season and launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for his training.

Programs

SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition gala
2024–2025El Tango de Roxanne (from Moulin Rouge!) performed by José Feliciano, Ewan McGregor, & Jacek Koman choreo. by Alisa BesseghierIron by Woodkid choreo. by Cornelia Leroy
2023–2024Bitter and Sweet Road Signs Variation Exit Run 44 Road Signs Variation One Way by Ezio Bosso choreo. by Stéphane LambielConcerto for Viola d'amore in D Minor, RV 394: Il. Largo by Antonio Vivaldi The Belt of Faith (from Parasite) by Jung Jae-il choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel
2022–2023El Flamenco Red Violin by Ikuko Kawai choreo. by Stéphane LambielBorn from Ashes True Love's Last Kiss Yearning Hearts by Eternal Eclipse choreo. by Drew MeekinsYou Raise Me Up by Rolf Løvland performed by The O'Neill Brothers, Harrison Craig, Touch of Glass choreo. by Benoît Richaud, Barbara Riboldi
2021–2022Rain, In Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso choreo. by Benoît Richaud, Barbara RiboldiYou Raise Me Up by Rolf Løvland performed by The O'Neill Brothers, Harrison Craig, Touch of Glass choreo. by Benoît Richaud, Barbara Riboldi
2020–2021Main Title Theme (from Rome) by Jeff Beal Wrench and Numbers (from Fargo season 1) by Jeff Russo Movement IV (from Flesh and Bone) by Adam Crystal choreo. by Benoît Richaud, Barbara Riboldi

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event20–2121–2222–2323–24
CS Ice Challenge7th
CS Warsaw Cup7thWD
Swiss OpenWD
Tallink Hotels Cup3rd
International: Junior
Junior Worlds9th2nd
JGP Austria5th
JGP Hungary2nd
JGP Italy4th
JGP Poland4th8th
JGP Slovakia8th
EYOF3rd
Challenge Cup2nd
Egna Trophy2nd2nd
Ice Challenge1st
Merano Ice Trophy1st
NRW Trophy6th
National
Switzerland1st J

Detailed results

Junior results

DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
2023–24 season
September 20–23, 20232023 JGP HungaryJunior3 67.102 137.692 204.79
August 30–September 2, 20232023 JGP AustriaJunior9 61.784 136.825 198.60
2022–23 season
DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 20232023 World Junior ChampionshipsJunior3 79.463 141.222 220.68
February 16–19, 20232023 Tallink Hotels CupSenior4 73.902 145.553 219.45
January 25–27, 20232023 European Youth Olympic FestivalJunior2 68.884 116.633 185.51
November 17–20, 20222022 CS Warsaw CupSenior6 75.468 132.887 208.34
November 9–13, 20222022 CS Ice ChallengeSenior6 69.0211 128.577 197.59
October 12–15, 20222022 JGP ItalyJunior4 71.716 126.924 198.63
Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 20222022 JGP Poland IJunior6 66.508 121.358 187.85
2021–22 season
DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
April 13–17, 20222022 World Junior ChampionshipsJunior12 67.617 139.049 206.65
April 4–7, 20222022 Egna Spring TrophyJunior2 68.442 143.022 211.46
February 24–27, 20222022 International Challenge CupJunior2 70.551 139.812 210.36
February 5–6, 20222022 Merano CupJunior1 69.561 134.811 204.37
January 22–23, 20222021–22 Swiss Junior ChampionshipsJunior1 69.931 139.001 208.93
November 10–14, 20212021 Ice ChallengeJunior2 62.531 118.291 180.82
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, 20212021 JGP PolandJunior7 65.5112 105.608 171.11
September 1–4, 20212021 JGP SlovakiaJunior7 55.824 122.836 178.65
2020–21 season
DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
April 29 – May 2, 20212021 Egna Spring TrophyJunior3 62.621 116.452 179.07
November 26–29, 20202020 NRW TrophyJunior3 54.628 83.226 137.84

External links