Some members of the Italian team will compete for the first time this season, whereas others return after a great start. 

The latter include Michele Massa who secured gold in the men’s foil and epee category B just three weeks ago at the opening World Cup in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Matteo Betti will compete for the first time since winning his first Paralympic medal at Paris 2024. The Italian made it into the final of the men’s foil category A in the French capital, securing silver at his fifth Paralympics. 

All the actions from the 2025 Para Fencing World Cup in Pisa can be watched live at World Para Fencing’s website.

Edoardo Giordan joined Betti in the list of first-time Italian medallists in Paris, claiming bronze in the men’s sabre category A at his second Games. Both men have finished on the podium at the most recent European and World Championships. 

Giordan will look to match or improve on his World Championships sabre bronze from 2023 in Iksan, South Korea, in September, whilst Betti will hope to do the same in foil. 

Reigning European champion and world No.2 Rossana Pasquino makes her season debut in the women’s epee and sabre category B. Pasquino is targeting the defence of two bronze medals from both weapons at Iksan 2025. 

Whilst a star-studded Italian team will hope to capitalise on a home advantage, other teams are also in the business of making the most of an important season. 

That is no more true than for South Korea who, thanks to the rise of their fencers, made a lasting impression in Paris. 

Hyo Kyeong Kwon became a Paralympian and Paralympic medallist at the age of just 23 when she secured silver in the women’s epee category A. Kwon continued her winning streak at the end of 2024, finishing the season with World Cup gold in the weapon and cementing her status as the world No.1. 

The women’s sabre category A is shaping up to be an intriguing affair with three of the world’s leading fencers set to compete. 

They include Poland’s Paris 2024 silver medallist and top seed, Kinga Drozdz; Georgian bronze medallist Nina Tibilashvili and Hungary’s Eva Andreja Hajmasi.

Other top names to look out for include Germany’s men’s sabre catgeory A Paralympic champion Maurice Schmidt, Poland’s Tokyo 2020 runner-up, Adrian Castro, in the category B and Türkiye’s men’s epee A category bronze medallist Hakan Akkaya. 

The Pisa 2025 Para Fencing World Cup runs from 13-16 March. It will feature individual men’s and women’s events across epee, foil and sabre category A and B.  

In addition, World Para Fencing is trialling new formats for team events in Pisa. The epee, sabre and foil will all be mixed gender and feature four rounds, with the aim of making the sport even more dynamic and attractive to spectators. 

Pisa 2025 is the second of five World Cups taking place in all corners of the world this year, including Brazil, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Indonesia and Thailand.  

The Iksan 2025 Para Fencing World Championships will head to the capital of fencing in South Korea from 2-7 September.