By Kevin Snow, European curling writer
It’s been less than two years since Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller burst onto the scene at the Grand Slam of Curling. Fresh off their gold medal win at the 2024 World Junior Curling Championships, Team Schwaller made their Grand Slam debut at the Players Championship in April 2024. They posted a pedestrian 1-4 record in their Grand Slam lid-lifter, but it’s been an upward trajectory since then.
While last season was all about incremental adjustments and adapting to the schedule, the 23-year-old Schwaller and her team (Selina Rychier, lead; Fabienne Rieder, second; Selina Gafner, third) have put the world on notice this year.
Schwaller has a record of 10-7 in three Grand Slam competitions. They’ve qualified for the playoffs in every event, including their first semifinal appearance at the CO-OP Tour Challenge. In 10 total events this season, they are 46-15, and their individual hit list features wins over Team Homan, Team Wranå, Team Constantini and Team Gim.
In less than two years, Team Schwaller has gone from being the new kids on the block to a force to be reckoned with in women’s curling.
Schwaller’s love of the sport comes naturally, thanks to her family. Her father, Andreas, won a bronze medal for Switzerland at the 2002 Winter Olympics, along with her uncle, Christof. Her cousin, Yannick, is a mainstay on the Grand Slam tour and will skip Switzerland’s team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Yannick will also compete in the mixed doubles in Italy with his wife, Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann.
Schwaller recently took some time to share her thoughts on an eventful start to her professional career.
How has your family impacted your career?
Oh, quite a lot. I grew up with the sport. My dad is my coach. My cousins all curled, and my mom curled as well. They all give me the drive to compete and achieve what they achieved. It’s so great, and I love it.
What is it like to have Yannick around?
It’s so fun. I really like having him around. I always watched him on TV when I was younger and now we are competing at the same events, which is pretty cool.
How would you describe your season, and what has changed from last year?
It’s going really well so far. We’ve qualified in all the events we’ve played. The big difference is that we are also doing well at the Slams. We played in our first Slam quarterfinal and semifinal this season. The girls are playing really well together, and we’re always working on things. We also brought in John Epping as a coach. That has actually made quite a difference.
What has Epping added to your team?
He knows the game so well, and he has so many great ideas. He’s also very calm, which we like. He can calm us down in the moments when we are a little nervous on the ice. We are such a young team, and he has the experience.
You grew up watching Team Tirinzoni, now they are your opponents. What is that like?
Growing up, we always saw them doing well and winning medals. Now we actually get to play against them and have beaten them. If you play a team that many times, you know them really well. But we always like playing them because it’s always a good game.
You are 1-1 against Team Homan this season. What does a win over the world’s top team do for your confidence?
Honestly, we try to play every team the same way. We really don’t do anything different when we play them. You need to play well to beat all of the teams here. But that was definitely a good win for us against them.
What is life like away from the rink for Team Schwaller?
We always have an Airbnb. That’s very important for us so we can cook our own food, hang out and do stuff together. We all like to go to the gym. I also enjoy going on runs, before or after a game, to clear my mind.
Team Schwaller returns to North American action this weekend at the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown in Swift Current, Sask.
Their three-game round-robin schedule features games against Team Dupont (Denmark), Team Reese-Hansen (Canada) and Team Barker (Canada).
Other notable European teams in the women’s bracket include Team Tirinzoni, Team Wranå and Team Constantini.
World No. 1 Team Mouat headlines the men’s field, along with Team Retornaz, Team Waddell, Team Whyte, Team Hösli and Team Klima.
The semifinals and championship final for both the men and women will take place on Sunday.
