Bold prediction
Last season was dominated by the tit-for-tat contest between Becerra and Great Britain’s Ella Gibson, who exchanged the number one spot in the world rankings several times.
It was Becerra who ended the season with the coveted World Cup trophy in her hands, however, and she remains the number one compound women’s athlete after ending Gibson’s reign at the top, which lasted an incredible 1000 days.
The Mexican may not have been as dominant as last year, but she still has three major individual medals to her name, with silvers in Shanghai 2026 and the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as gold in Antalya 2026.
Gibson, too, has had her own self-admitted struggles this season, particularly at the beginning. But, as she did during the indoor season by winning The Vegas Shoot, the Brit finished strongly, grabbing gold in the Madrid 2026 individual and mixed team finals with the help of Ajay Scott.
These two, along with the obvious Sara Lopez, are among the favourites, making for a fascinating contest whenever they face one another.
But Lisell Jaatma, the stage winner from Shanghai and one of the top seeds alongside Lopez, might have something to say.
The 2026 outdoor season has been her career-best at 50 metres on archery’s international circuit, with silver in Puebla and bronze in Shanghai, as well as her individual gold at stage two.
Jaatma emotionally revealed after her victory in China – her first individual gold at an international outdoor event – how she had battled back from an eating disorder to reach that point.
She is more motivated than ever, which makes her a dangerous proposition for Lopez and company.
European champion Hazal Burun, who beat Jaatma on the way to winning the European Outdoor Championships, is another to watch.
