Alexia Paganini (born November 15, 2001) is a former Swiss-American figure skater who represented Switzerland in ladies' singles.
[3] Paganini made her senior international debut and her first appearance for Switzerland at the Slovenia Open in August 2017; she outscored Australia's Kailani Craine by 2.31 points to win the gold medal.
Ranked sixth in the short program and third in the free skate, she obtained the bronze medal (by a margin of 0.13 over Germany's Nathalie Weinzierl) in addition to a spot for Switzerland at the Olympics.
Due to Carolina Kostner's withdrawal from the 2018 Internationaux de France because of injury, Paganini was chosen to replace her at the event, giving her a second Grand Prix assignment.
Paganini scored a new personal best in the short program, 65.64, and won the bronze small medal behind Zagitova and Samodurova.
She concluded the season at the 2019 World Championships, where she made multiple errors in the short program and placed thirty-third, failing to qualify for the free skate.
[16] Paganini subsequently attributed the switch to the effects of the pandemic in the United States and her desire for "a change and for everything to be a bit more professional and organized.
"[15] With pandemic-related travel restrictions in place, Paganini began the season at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, an event attended only by ladies training in Europe.
[17][18] Paganini led after the short program but fell twice in the free and cut her right hand on the blade of her skate, placing third in that segment and second overall.
[19] At the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Paganini placed twenty-fifth in the short program after popping a planned triple loop into an invalid double and narrowly missed advancing to the free skate.
[22] She next competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeking to qualify a berth for Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics after failing to do so at the World Championships.
[25] Assigned to her second Swiss Olympic team, Paganini placed nineteenth in the short program of the women's event, qualifying to the free skate.
[28] Paganini concluded the season with a nineteenth place at the 2022 World Championships, expressing satisfaction with the result after having come down with the flu in the week beforehand.
She placed fifth in the short program at the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy but withdrew before the free skate, citing medical reasons.