Former California wrestling standout Alex Glaude will begin her 2026 international campaign this week at the United World Wrestling (UWW) Ranking Series event at the Zagreb Open in Croatia. The tournament marks the first Ranking Series competition of the year and will feature many of the world’s top competitors in women’s freestyle.

Competing at 72 kilograms, Glaude will open her tournament against Mahiro Yoshitake of Japan, a two-time age-group World medalist and the reigning 2024 Asian champion — setting the stage for a high-level opening-round matchup.

Glaude enters the event with an impressive résumé that spans high school, college, and international competition. In 2025, she captured bronze at the Muhamet Malo Tournament in Albania, won Final X, and claimed the U.S. Open title.

Her 2024 season included a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, as well as a bronze at the Bill Farrell Memorial International. She also placed third at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, narrowly missing a spot on the Olympic team.

In 2023, Glaude earned silver at the Bill Farrell Memorial International, finished ninth at the Zagreb Open, and was the runner-up at both the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament and the U.S. Open. She also competed internationally in Hungary and Egypt.

Her breakout senior year came in 2021, when she won gold at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, claimed the U.S. Open championship, and placed fourth at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Earlier in her career, Glaude medaled at multiple international events, including a bronze at the 2018 U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania. She also won the U23 Women’s National title that same year and consistently placed at top-tier international tournaments.

On the domestic stage, Glaude was a dominant high school wrestler at Christian Brothers High School, where she was a two-time CIF Section champion and Napa Valley Classic champion, compiling an overall record of 58-2 in just two seasons.

At the collegiate level, she was a standout for McKendree University, winning the 2020 NCWWC national championship at 155 pounds after previously capturing a WCWA national title in 2019.

Women’s freestyle competition at the Zagreb Open will take place Thursday through Saturday at Arena Zagreb, with wrestling beginning each day at 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. Pacific). Fans can watch the action live on FloWrestling, with brackets and live results available on UWW Arena.