The format for the Championship featured a thirteen team round robin. The top six teams qualified for the playoff round where the top two teams received a bye while the remaining four played in the qualification round to qualify for the semifinals.[3]
On Day 2, New Zealand, skipped byJessica Smith, won their first ever game at the Women's World Championships, beating Scotland 8–6.[4]
In Draw 11, Canada, skipped byRachel Homan ended Switzerland's 42 game winning streak at the World Championships. Canada defeated the Swiss, who were skipped by four-time defending championSilvana Tirinzoni, 8–5. Switzerland had not lost a game since the2021 Worlds.[5] The Homan rink had gone into the game on a 21 game winning streak of their own, dating back over two months.[6]
Following their Draw 14 defeat of Turkey (skipped byDilşat Yıldız), Canada became the first country to secure a playoff spot.[7]
On March 21, the remaining five teams clinched playoff berths, beginning with Italy (skipped byStefania Constantini) in Draw 15 in the morning, following a 10–2 win over Norway (Marianne Rørvik). In Draw 16 in the afternoon, Switzerland clinched a berth after beating Denmark (skipped byMadeleine Dupont) 9–1. Draw 17, played in the evening saw South Korea (Gim Eun-ji), Sweden (Anna Hasselborg) and Denmark clinch the remaining three berths.[8]
With victories in Draw 19, Canada and Switzerland secured the top two spots and direct byes to the semifinals. In Draw 20, Italy secured third place by defeating Japan (skipped byMiyu Ueno), placing South Korea fourth, Sweden fifth and Denmark sixth.[9]
In the playoffs, South Korea beat Sweden 6–3 and Italy downed Denmark 7–4 in the qualification games. In the semifinals, Korea lost to Canada 9–7 and Italy lost to Switzerland 6–3.[10] The Canada–Korea game was a close affair, with Korea leading 7–6 heading into the 10th end. Canada skip Rachel Homan made a "brilliant double" on her first, which was followed by a partially missed draw by Korean skip Gim Eun-ji which Homan removed for the win. The Switzerland–Italy game was also fairly close, with Swiss last-throwerAlina Pätz having to make a double on her last rock of the game for the win. With their wins, the top two seeded teams Canada, and Switzerland would face off for the gold medal, while Korea played Italy for the bronze. It was the first time since2018 that Canada made it to the final, while Switzerland attempted to win their fifth straight championship.[11]
In the final, Canada started off by making some small mistakes, and were outplayed by Switzerland early on. The team were forced to one with the hammer in the first end, and secondEmma Miskew rolled out of the house with a hit in the second, followed later in the end by a missed freeze-attempt by Homan, resulting in a deuce for the Swiss. After Canada was forced to another single in the third, Homan's last rock in the fourth undercurled allowing Pätz to make a double to score two, handing Switzerland a 4–2 lead. However, Pätz made two mistakes of her own in the fifth, and was heavy on both her draws, allowing Canada to score two to tie the game at 4 heading into the break. The next two ends would be blanked, which was followed by an eighth end with lots of rocks in play. Canada thirdTracy Fleury made a hit and roll frozen to a rock on the button, and on her last, Homan made a hit to sit four. This forced Pätz to draw for a single to take a 5–4 lead. In the ninth end, Homan made two stellar shots. On her first, she made a "rocket double" to sit three. Pätz replied with a double of her own, resulting in Canada lying one. Homan opted to try a split on her last to score three, bringing a rock in the top 12 further into the house to out-count a Swiss rock, while rolling her shooter to out count the rock as well. Homan made the shot, giving Canada a two point lead heading into the 10th and final end. In the 10th, Switzerland conceded before throwing their last rock as they did not have any potential shots to tie the game, handing Homan and Miskew their second world championships,[12] and giving Fleury and Canada leadSarah Wilkes their first world titles.[13]
South Korea won the bronze medal, after defeating Italy 6–3.
Thirteen curling federations qualified to participate in the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship. Of note, Germany failed to qualify for the championship for the first time since2005. Estonia and New Zealand made their second appearances while Turkey qualified for their third straight Worlds.[14]
Canada
Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni)
South Korea
Japan
United States
New Zealand
Italy
Norway
Sweden
Scotland
Estonia
Denmark
Turkey
