Léa Serna

Léa Serna (born 31 October 1999) is a French figure skater. She is the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy silver medalist, a two-time International Cup of Nice champion, and a three-time French national champion (2021–23).

Personal life

Serna was born on October 31, 1999, in Aubagne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

Career

Early career

Serna began learning to skate in 2007. Her first coach was François Guestault. She first debuted as a novice skater at the 2014 Triglav Trophy. The following year, she won the 2013 French Novice Championships.

2013–14 season: Junior Grand Prix debut

Prior to the season, Serna began training at the SG Annecy in Annecy, France, where Didier Lucine, Claudie Lucine, and Sophie Gollaz became her new coaches.

In September 2013, she debuted on the 2013–14 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, competing at 2013 JGP Slovakia and finishing eighteenth. Going on to compete at the 2013 Master's de Patinage, Serna won the bronze medal on the junior level. She then placed sixth and ninth on the junior level at the 2013 Cup of Nice and 2013 Merano Cup, respectively.

At the 2014 French Championships, Serna finished ninth on the senior level and sixth on the junior level.

2014–15 season

Serna started the season by winning gold on the junior level at the 2014 Master's de Patinage. Going on to compete on the 2014–15 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, Serna would place seventeenth at 2014 JGP Croatia. She subsequently won silver on the junior level at the 2014 Merano Cup.

At the 2015 French Championships, Serna won the bronze medal on the senior level. Selected to compete at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in January, she won the bronze medal. One month later, Serna won silver at the 2015 French Junior Championships.

In March, she competed at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia; she qualified for the free skate and finished twentieth overall.

Serna would miss the 2015–16 figure skating season due to tendinitis in the patellar ligament.

2016–17 season: Return to competition

Making her return to competition, Serna began competing on the senior level. She began the season by winning bronze at the 2016 Master's de Patinage before going on to finish twenty-seventh at the 2016 Golden Bear of Zagreb and tenth at the 2016 Merano Cup. Debuting on the ISU Challenger Series, Serna would place twelfth at the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup. In December, she finished fifth at the 2017 French Championships.

She ended her season by finishing tenth and fourth at the 2017 Coupe du Printemps and the 2017 Egna Spring Trophy, respectively.

2017–18 season

Serna started the season by finishing ninth at the 2017 Slovenia Open before going on to win bronze at the 2017 Master's de Patinage.

In October 2017, she won her first senior international medal, a silver at the Denkova-Staviski Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. She then won bronze at the 2018 French Championships and gold at the 2018 French Junior Championships. Between the national events, Serna competed on the junior level at the 2019 Mentor Toruń Cup, taking the silver medal.

Selected to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Serna placed thirty-eighth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment of the competition.

2018–19 season

Beginning the season at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, Serna would finish twelfth. She then went on to take bronze at the Master's de Patinage for a third consecutive year. The following month, Serna won silver at the Ice Star before placing fifth at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup.

Her Grand Prix debut came in November at the 2018 Internationaux de France, where she placed eleventh. She then competed at the 2019 French Championships, where she finished fourth.

In January 2019, it was announced that Serna had begun training in Poitiers, where Brian Joubert became her new coach. The following month, she would compete on the junior level at the 2019 Dragon Trophy, where she took the bronze medal. Serna would then close the season by finishing fourth at the 2019 French Junior Championships.

2019–20 season: European Championship debut

Serna started the season with a third-place finish at the 2021 Master's de Patinage. She would then compete at the 2019 CS Ice Star, where she placed twelfth. In November, Serna competed at the 2019 Internationaux de France, where she finished eighth. Two weeks later, Serna would place eighth at the 2019 Tallinn Trophy.

At the 2020 French Championships in December, Serna won the bronze medal. Selected to compete at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria, Serna came in sixteenth.

2020–21 season

Serna's first competition of the season was at the 2020 Master's de Patinage in October, where she won the event for the first time on the senior level. In February, Serna would win her first national title at the 2021 French Championships before finishing eighth at the 2021 Tallink Hotels Cup one week later.

Selected to compete at the 2021 World Team Trophy, Serna placed twelfth in the ladies' singles event and Team France would finish in fifth place overall.

2021–22 season: World Championship debut

Serna began the season by finishing tenth at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy.

Due to Maé-Bérénice Méité being forced to withdraw from the 2021 World Championships due to injury, there were no berths for French women to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the women's singles event. As a result, Serna competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final Olympic qualifying event, however, she failed to finish in the top five and secure an Olympic qualification. She would place fourteenth at the event overall.

Serna would go on to winning silver at the 2021 Master's de Patinage, gold at the 2021 Cup of Nice, and silver at the 2021 NRW Trophy. Competing on the 2021–22 Grand Prix circuit, Serna finished eleventh at the 2021 Internationaux de France.

At the 2022 French Championships, Serna won her second national title. Selected to compete at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Serna finished twelfth. Two months later, Serna competed at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France. She would place twenty-ninth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate segment.

2022–23 season

Serna started the season by winning silver at the 2022 Master's de Patinage and gold at the 2022 Cup of Nice. Going on to compete at the 2022 Grand Prix de France and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup, Serna would finish ninth and fifth, respectively.

Serna won gold at the 2023 French Championships for a third time. Selected to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Serna placed twenty-sixth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment of the competition. Three months later, Serna was invited to compete at the 2023 World Team Trophy where she placed eighth in the women's individual event and Team France would finish fifth overall.

2023–24 season

In summer 2023, Serna moved her training base to Oberstdorf to train under Michael Huth. She began the season by winning gold at the 2023 Master's de Patinage.

In her first international competition with her new coaches, she won her first ISU Challenger Series medal, a silver, at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy. On the Grand Prix, she achieved a new best finish with seventh place at the 2023 Grand Prix de France before going on to finish eleventh at the 2023 NHK Trophy. Between these two events, Serna competed at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup, finishing fourth.

At the 2024 French Championships, Serna took the bronze medal behind Lorine Schild and Stefania Gladki. Although Serna was initially announced as the French representative for the women's singles event at the 2024 World Championships while Lorine Schild would be given the sole berth to compete at the 2024 European Championships, however, following Schild's strong fifth-place finish at the Europeans, the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace announced that Schild would compete at the World Championships instead of Serna.

Going on to compete at the 2024 Bavarian Open, Serna finished fifth. She would then close the season by winning the 2024 Merano Cup.

2024–25 season

Serna chose the music for her free skate because she felt it allowed her to express any emotions she felt on a particular day. She noted that it went against the common convention in figure skating of women skating to songs sung by women rather than men.

She intended to compete at the 2024 Master's de Patinage at the beginning of the season; however, she tore a ligament in her ankle and did not participate. Serna continued training with a reduced load under the advice of doctors and struggled with her jumps and stamina in the first half of the season due to the injury and its effect on her training.

Serna began the season by competing 2024–25 Grand Prix series. She finished eleventh at 2024 Skate America and the 2024 Grand Prix de France. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, Serna finished seventh at the 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy, eighth at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup, and fourth 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

In late December, Serna won the silver medal at the 2025 French Championships behind Stefania Gladki. The following month, she won the gold medal at the 2025 Bavarian Open and placed eleventh at the 2025 European Championships.

Selected to compete at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Serna finished the competition in fourth place. Subsequently, she competed for Team France at the 2025 World Team Trophy, where she placed ninth in the women's singles event and Team France would finish in fourth place overall.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed Results

Senior results

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Serna, Lea
1999 births
French female single skaters
Living people
Sportspeople from Aubagne
21st-century French sportswomen