Maria Laborde takes 7th at the Paris Grand Slam

The 2026 season is officially underway and Hatashita Sports athletes wasted no time making their presence felt at the opening Grand Slam of the year, the legendary Paris Grand Slam, hosted inside the iconic Accor Arena.

With five sponsored athletes stepping onto one of the toughest tatamis on the IJF World Judo Tour, Paris once again proved why it is considered one of the most demanding stops of the season.

Maria Laborde, seeded number three and ranked world number six, delivered a strong and determined performance to finish seventh overall.

She opened her campaign in convincing fashion against Noura Salem of Egypt, controlling the contest and scoring twice for yuko to advance. In the quarterfinal, Laborde faced world number nine Wakana Koga of Japan. The match ended early after Koga secured an osaekomi for ippon in the opening minute.

Dropping into repechage, Laborde faced Xinran Hui, the current world number ten. Despite a strong start, Laborde was caught in osaekomi, closing out a hard fought day just one win away from medal contention. 

In the under 73 kg category, Jack Yonezuka showcased his attacking style, opening with a beautiful ouchi gari for yuko against Daniel Szegedi of Hungary. His run came to an end in the round of 16 after a tough bout with France’s Dayyan Boulemtas.

Also competing on day one, Christopher Velazco and Emily Jaspe both faced difficult opening draws at one of the deepest events of the year. 

Day two belonged to Dominic Rodriguez, who finished with an impressive 2 and 1 record. He opened with a dynamic performance against Valentin Houinato of Benin, scoring with a sharp tomoe nage before transitioning seamlessly into ne waza to secure ippon. Rodriguez followed that up in emphatic fashion, defeating France’s Quentin Joubert in under one minute for ippon, energizing the Paris crowd with his explosive judo. In the round of 16, he lost to Abylaikhan Zhubanazar of Kazakhstan by two Yuko scores 

Paris once again delivered world class intensity and elite competition, setting the tone for the season ahead. Next up for our Hatashita Sports athletes is the Paris Training Camp, where they will continue sharpening their form alongside the best in the world.

Following the camp, part of the team will travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia, to compete at an upcoming European Open.