Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team have won a sixth consecutive World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship after dominating the 2026 title decider on San Francisco Bay.
The French skipper and crew Maëlenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker and Laurane Mettraux defeated American Nicole Breault’s Vela Racing 3-0 in Sunday’s Grand Final at St Francis Yacht Club.
Courtois produced a commanding championship, winning 19 of the 20 matches she sailed across four days of racing in J/22s against 11 other international teams.
The victory extends a remarkable run for the French team, who claimed their fifth consecutive world title in Chicago in 2025. Courtois first began the current sequence with a victory at the 2021 World Championship in Cherbourg, all previously reported by Afloat.
Six in succession: Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team celebrate aboard their J/22 after securing a sixth consecutive Women’s Match Racing World Championship title in San Francisco. Photo: Simone Staff
Breault Takes Silver on Home Waters
The 12-team championship produced a mixture of San Francisco Bay conditions, ranging from 20 knots on the opening day to lighter tactical racing complicated by the venue’s strong tides and currents.
Mark pressure: Crews converge in a tight mark rounding during the Women’s Match Racing World Championship, where strong tides and currents added to the tactical challenge. Photo: Simone Staff
Courtois advanced through the semi-finals by defeating fellow French skipper Lucie Gout and her L4C Racing Team.
Breault, representing the host St Francis Yacht Club with Molly Carapiet, Hailey Thompson and Molly Vandemoer, beat Dutch skipper Julia Aartsen’s Out of the Box team in the other semi-final. That set up a France-USA Grand Final, with Courtois seeking to extend a championship run that has now lasted six editions.
The 3-0 scoreline suggested a straightforward victory, although Courtois said the racing was considerably closer.
“It was a really tight final; the score doesn't reflect how tight it was,” Courtois said. “We are really happy to win against Nicole and Team Vela. It’s always a tight battle, and it was really fun.”
Bay battle: Close downwind racing against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge as the world’s leading women’s match racers contest the championship on San Francisco Bay. Photo: Simone Staff
Courtois credited her crew’s boat speed as a major factor. “My team did an amazing job keeping the boat going fast all the time, which I think was a big key for us to win the match, because when you are faster, it’s easier,” she said.
Aartsen Secures Bronze
Aartsen and her Dutch Out of the Box crew of Nerine Usman, Eva Asbeek Brusse and Ismene Usman defeated Gout’s L4C Racing Team in two matches to secure bronze. “We sailed our best event so far, so it's really great,” Aartsen said after describing third place as the best result of her career.
Courtois and Match in Pink received the Françoise Pascal Memorial Trophy as world champions, with Breault taking silver and Aartsen bronze.
The result adds another major title to Courtois’ 2026 campaign, which began with her Match in Pink team opening the Women’s World Match Racing Tour unbeaten in Denmark in May, Afloat reported.
The championship will move to Auckland next year, where the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has already confirmed it will host the 2027 Women’s Match Racing World Championship from 22-26 November.
