Qualification
The eight players to qualify will be: [3]
| Qualification method | Player | Age | Rating | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (November 2025) | ||||
| The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 |  Zhu Jiner (winner) | 23 | 2579 | 2 |
 Aleksandra Goryachkina (runner-up) | 27 | 2540 | 5 | |
| The top three finishers in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 |  Divya Deshmukh (winner) | 19 | 2505 | 11 |
| Koneru Humpy (runner-up) | 38 | 2535 | 6 | |
| Tan Zhongyi (third place) | 34 | 2524 | 7 | |
| The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 | Vaishali Rameshbabu (winner) | 24 | 2473 | 16 |
| Kateryna Lagno (runner-up) | 35 | 2517 | 9 | |
| The winner of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25 | TBD | |||
FIDE Women's Events 2024–25
In conjunction with the Open Candidates Tournament 2026, the runner-up of the previous championship match no longer automatically qualifies, unlike any previous Women's Candidates Tournament. Instead, the 2025 match is part of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25, a new qualification path which is a circuit that includes the 2024 and 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Grand Prix series, the World Cup and the Grand Swiss. [4] A player's score is the sum of her highest scores in up to 5 qualifying events. [5]
- : Current leader – set to qualify for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 (Next top leader if the current top player has already qualified through other route)
- : Current World Champion – ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification
- : Player qualified for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 via another path
- : Player ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification
| No. | Player | Points | Events | World Rapid 2024 | World Blitz 2024 | World Champ | Grand Prix | World Cup | Grand Swiss | World Rapid 2025 | World Blitz 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koneru Humpy | 224.00 | 3 | 1st 84.00 | — | — | 4th 60.00 | 2nd 80.00 | — | ||
| 2 | Tan Zhongyi | 213.50 | 5 | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | — | 2nd 25.00 | 5th 40.00 | 3rd 50.00 | T 3rd-5th 60.00 | ||
| 3 | Kateryna Lagno | 164.50 | 3 | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | T 3rd-4th 16.00 | — | — | — | T 1st-2nd 110.00 | ||
| 4 | Vaishali Rameshbabu | 146.00 | 3 | — | T 3rd-4th 16.00 | — | — | T 5th-8th 20.00 | T 1st-2nd 110.00 | ||
| 5 | Divya Deshmukh | 140.00 | 2 | — | — | — | 7th 20.00 | 1st 120.00 | — | ||
| 6 | Zhu Jiner | 128.00 | 2 | — | T 5th-8th 8.00 | — | 1st 120.00 | — | — | ||
| 7 | Aleksandra Goryachkina | 100.00 | 1 | — | — | — | 2nd 100.00 | — | — | ||
| 8 |  Bibisara Assaubayeva | 99.40 | 4 | T 8th-12th 1.40 | T 5th-8th 8.00 | — | 6th 30.00 | — | T 3rd-5th 60.00 | ||
| 9 | Ju Wenjun | 86.50 | 2 [a] | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | 1st 48.00 | 1st 0.00 | — | — | — | ||
| 10 |  Anna Muzychuk | 80.00 | 1 | — | — | — | 3rd 80.00 | — | — | ||
| 11 | 80.00 | 2 | — | — | — | — | T 5th-8th 20.00 | T 3rd-5th 60.00 | |||
| 12 | Lei Tingjie | 62.00 | 2 | — | 2nd 32.00 | — | — | 4th 30.00 | — | ||
| 13 | Harika Dronavalli | 58.50 | 2 | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | — | — | — | T 5th-8th 20.00 | — | ||
| 14 |  Afruza Khamdamova | 38.50 | 1 | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 15 |  Alexandra Kosteniuk | 38.50 | 1 | T 2nd-7th 38.50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 16 | Mariya Muzychuk | 26.40 | 3 | T 8th-12th 1.40 | — | — | T 8th-9th 5.00 | — | T 6th-8th 20.00 | ||
| 17 | 25.00 | 2 | — | — | — | T 8th-9th 5.00 | T 5th-8th 20.00 | — | |||
| 18 |  Irina Krush | 20.00 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | T 6th-8th 20.00 | ||
| 19 |  Ulviyya Fataliyeva | 20.00 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | T 6th-8th 20.00 | ||
| 20 | Valentina Gunina | 8.00 | 1 | — | T 5th-8th 8.00 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 21 | Carissa Yip | 8.00 | 1 | — | T 5th-8th 8.00 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 22 |  Irene Kharisma Sukandar | 1.40 | 1 | T 8th-12th 1.40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 23 |  Deysi Cori | 1.40 | 1 | T 8th-12th 1.40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 24 |  Stavroula Tsolakidou | 1.40 | 1 | T 8th-12th 1.40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
