No big three? No problem.

It’s an open race to the podium at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, beginning Saturday at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary.

All three teams that earned medals in women’s curling at Milano Cortina 2026 — Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg (gold), Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni (silver), and Canada’s Team Rachel Homan (bronze) — are not competing in this year’s worlds for different reasons.

Hasselborg lost out to Team Isabella Wranå in a points chase, Tirinzoni fell to Team Xenia Schwaller in the best-of-three finals at the Swiss curling championships, and Homan did not compete in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, with Team Kerri Einarson earning the right to represent Canada.

Tirinzoni, Homan and Hasselborg are also the top three teams in the world rankings. Combined, Homan and Tirinzoni have won seven of the past eight world championships.

Having said that, there are quite a few veteran teams ready to make the most of the opportunity.

“I think that our experience over the years will help us going into these worlds,” said Einarson, who won back-to-back bronze medals at the women’s worlds in 2022 and 2023. “Other countries are maybe feel some of the pressure as well. So, it'll be a good time, and we've played a lot of the teams too, just maybe not as much as other teams.”

Here’s a capsule look at all 13 teams. Six teams will advance to the playoff round (no tiebreakers) with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals.

AUSTRALIA

World Ranking: No. 89
Lineup: Helen Williams, Sara Westman, Kristen Tsourlenes, Karen Titheridge

The 53-year-old Williams makes her World Women’s Curling Championship debut and will be in tough as the lowest-ranked team. Her team qualified after finishing sixth at the Pan Continental Curling Championships in the fall with a 2-5 record. They also competed in the Olympic Qualification Event earlier this season but did not advance after going 1-6.

CANADA

World Ranking: No. 5
Lineup: Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Karlee Burgess

Einarson enters her fourth World Women’s Curling Championship after earning back-to-back bronze medals in 2022 and 2023 and should be a medal contender again. The skip from Gimli, Manitoba, is a six-time Grand Slam of Curling title winner and finished runner-up at the Crown Royal Players’ Championship in January.

Speaking to the media earlier this week, Einarson said she isn’t going to change her strategy against some unfamiliar opponents.

“I think we're just going to worry about ourselves and what we do and what works for us,” Einarson said. “We had a really great Scotties, and those last two games that we played at the Scotties, I know it feels like forever ago now, but definitely just keep that going into worlds.

"We brought the best version of our team and ourselves, and I think we can take that into worlds. It'll give us a good chance.”

CHINA

World Ranking: No. 16
Lineup: Wang Rui, Han Yu, Dong Ziqi, Jiang Jiayi

Wang won the bronze medal at the World Women’s Curling Championship last year in her sixth appearance at the tournament. The team captured gold at the Pan Continental Curling Championships in the fall and will look to bounce back from a disappointing 10th-place finish (2-7 record) at the Olympic Winter Games last month in Milano Cortina.

DENMARK

World Ranking: No. 12
Lineup: Madeleine Dupont, Mathilde Halse, Denise Dupont, My Larsen

This is the 17th appearance at the World Women’s Curling Championship for Madeleine Dupont, who earned silver in 2007 and bronze in 2009 while throwing fourth stones for skip Angelina Jensen. The team finished seventh with a 4-5 record in Milano Cortina.

ITALY

World Ranking: No. 31
Lineup: Stefania Constantini, Elena Mathis, Marta Lo Deserto, Giulia Zardini Lacedelli

Constantini claimed Olympic bronze in mixed doubles on home ice at Milano Cortina 2026, but her women’s team ended near the bottom of the table with a 2-7 record. Her best result at the women’s worlds came on Canadian ice, finishing fourth in 2024 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

JAPAN

World Ranking: No. 9
Lineup: Satsuki Fujisawa, Chinami Yoshida, Yumi Suzuki, Yurika Yoshida

Fujisawa earned bronze at PyeongChang 2018 and silver in Beijing 2022, but her quest to reach the top step of the Olympic podium this season was halted after finishing third in the Japanese curling trials. Her team has earned one medal at the women’s worlds, winning silver in 2016. Fujisawa was the first Japanese skip to win a Grand Slam title at the Canadian Open in 2023 and finished runner-up in the event this season.

NORWAY

World Ranking: No. 30
Lineup: Torild Bjørnstad, Nora Østgård, Ingeborg Forbregd, Eirin Mesloe

The 22-year-old Bjørnstad makes her World Women’s Curling Championship debut. She skipped Norway to back-to-back bronze medals at the World Junior Curling Championships in 2023 and 2024. Her team won the Match Town Trophy and finished runner-up in three other tour events this season.

SCOTLAND

World Ranking: No. 40
Lineup: Fay Henderson, Lisa Davie, Hailey Duff, Katie McMillan

Henderson is the three-time reigning Scottish champion but will compete in the women’s worlds for the first time as a skip. She served as Sophie Jackson’s alternate at the event last year and again at Milano Cortina 2026. The 24-year-old Henderson skipped Scotland to gold at the 2023 World Junior Curling Championships.

SOUTH KOREA

World Ranking: No. 4
Lineup: Eun-ji Gim, Min-ji Kim, Su-ji Kim, Ye-eun Seol

The highest-ranked team in the event, Gim makes a seventh appearance at the women’s worlds, having captured bronze in 2024. Gim just missed the playoffs at Milano Cortina 2026, finishing fifth with a 5-4 record. Her team became the first from South Korea to win a Grand Slam of Curling major title when they were victorious at the National in 2023.

SWEDEN

World Ranking: No. 13
Lineup: Isabella Wranå, Almida De Val, Maria Larsson, Linda Stenlund

It’s been a dream season for Wranå, who won Olympic gold in mixed doubles at Milano Cortina and now skips in her first World Women’s Curling Championship. Her team has reached the final twice at the Players' Championship and won the Grand Slam title in 2023. Wranå is seeking Sweden's first medal at the women's worlds since Hasselborg took silver in 2019.

SWITZERLAND

World Ranking: No. 6
Lineup: Xenia Schwaller, Selina Gafner, Fabienne Rieder, Selina Rychiger

Schwaller had a breakout season on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in the series at the AMJ Masters, then bettering that result with semifinal finishes at the CO-OP Tour Challenge and KIOTI GSOC Tahoe. Her team won gold at the 2024 World Junior Curling Championships. Toronto-based curler John Epping serves as the team’s coach.

TÜRKIYE

World Ranking: No. 37
Lineup: Dilsat Yildiz, Oznur Polat, Iclal Karaman, Berfin Sengul

Yildiz makes a fifth consecutive appearance at the World Women’s Curling Championship. Her team has yet to make the playoffs and posted its best result in 2023, finishing eighth with a 6-6 record. Yildiz went 3-4 in the Olympic Qualification Event in the fall and did not advance.

UNITED STATES

World Ranking: No. 51
Lineup: Delaney Strouse, Anne O’Hara, Sydney Mullaney, Madison Bear

Strouse is back in the house, skipping her squad to their first U.S. national championship last month. Bear, who was calling the shots to start the season after joining at lead, is now handling vice skip duties. Strouse skipped the U.S. to bronze medals at the 2022 World Junior Curling Championships and 2023 World University Games.