Nakai began figure skating in 2013. She originally practiced rhythmic gymnastics but ultimately switched to figure skating after being inspired by watching Mao Asada perform on TV when she was five years old.[1][3] Nakai originally trained at the Ibis SC in Niigata under coaches, Kousuke Watabe and Izumi Watabe.[2] While there, Nakai got to meet Asada when she used Nakai's training rink to practice for an ice show in Niigata. Asada also gave Nakai a private skating lesson.[4]
Nakai would start practicing and landing triple axels in her fifth year of elementary school.[4]
In spring 2021, Nakai moved with her mother from her hometown of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture to Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture so that Nakai could train at the MF Figure Skating Academy, while her father remained in Niigata due to his work. Kensuke Nakaniwa, Makoto Nakata, Momoe Nagumo, Aya Tanoue, and Akane Seo became Nakai's new coaching team.[3][2]
Nakai was sent to 2022 Coupe du Printemps to compete at the junior category. She won and became the twentieth woman to land a triple Axel in international competition.[5]
2022–23 season
In September 2022, Nakai debuted on the Junior Grand Prix circuit at the 2022 JGP Latvia in Riga. She landed all her jumps cleanly in her short program and placed third with 63.87 points.[8] Nakai attempted a triple Axel but was marked as under-rotated during the free skate. She popped two jumps and finished third overall.[9][10] At the second of two Polish Junior Grand Prixes held in Gdańsk, she won the gold medal and qualified to the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final. Nakai landed a clean triple Axel in the free skate and said afterward that she hoped to do two in the free skate at the Final.[11]
Fourth in the short program at the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, Nakai landed a triple Axel in the free skate and made only one jumping error, a fall on her triple loop. She placed third in that segment, moving up to take the bronze medal.[12]Two weeks later, at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Nakai finished in fourth place, 1.16 points behind bronze medalist Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea.[13] Despite narrowly missing the podium, she described the Final as "a dream stage."[14]
Nakai appeared at her second senior Japan Championships, finishing eighth in the short program.[15] She finished fourth in the free skate, successfully landing two triple Axel jumps, and rising to fourth place overall. She said she was "happy to have challenged two Axels on this big stage, and landed them both! It's the first time I have been able to land both in the same program." Nakai was assigned to Japan's second berth at the 2023 World Junior Championships, alongside Shimada.[16]
Competing at the World Junior Championships in Calgary, Nakai was third in the short program with a clean skate. With a score of 67.28, she finished 3.96 points back of second-place Shin Ji-a of South Korea, and 3.31 points ahead of Kim Yu-jae in fourth.[17] Nakai fell on her triple Axel attempt at the beginning of the free skate, but delivered the rest of the program cleanly, finishing third in that segment as well and winning the bronze medal.[18][19]
2023–24 season
Nakai began the season by competing on the Junior Grand Prix at the 2023 JGP Thailand, skating a clean short program to lead the segment. In the free skate she doubled her planned triple Axel and as a result performed too many double Axels in the segment, in violation of the Zayak rule, but still finished first in that segment as well and won the gold medal.[20] She secured another gold medal at the 2023 JGP Turkey in Istanbul, despite struggling with jump combinations in the free skate, which she said left her "a little bit disappointed," but adding she was "happy to be in first place." Her results qualified her for her second Junior Grand Prix Final.[21]
Dealing with a back injury with painkiller and injections, Nakai withdrew from the domestic sectionals competition in early November.[22] Despite this, she was considered a podium contender heading into the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships.[23] After falling and failing to executive a jump combination in the short program, she finished fourteenth in that segment.[24] She was tenth in the free skate, and rose to tenth overall, as a result missing qualification for both the senior national championships and the Japanese team for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.[25]
Nakai next appeared at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing, placing fourth in the short program. In the free skate she fell on her triple Axel, but landed six other triple jumps. She was fifth in that segment, and came fifth overall. Nakai explained that she "thought it would be the last competition of the season, so a part of me was nervous."[26][27]
2024–25 season
Over the course of the off-season, Nakai grew over five centimeters in height. She traveled to Toronto, Canada for a training camp at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club during the summer. While there, Nakai worked with coaches, Brian Orser, Karen Preston, and Jeff Dionisio. She also began practicing and landing quadruple toe loops for the first time.[4]
Nakai opened the season by competing on the 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix, winning silver at 2024 JGP Turkey.[28] At the 2024 JGP China, she won the gold medal, notably landing two triple Axels in her free skate although they were deemed as slightly underrotated. With these results, Nakai qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final for a third consecutive time.[29]
In late November, Nakai competed at the 2024–25 Japan Junior Championships, where she finished fourth.[5] This result ensured her qualification to compete at the senior championships.[30] A couple weeks later, Nakai competed at the JGP Final in Grenoble, France. She placed third in the short program, and fourth in the free skate, taking and third overall, winning her first JGP Final medal, and rounding out a Japanese sweep in the junior women's event, alongside Kaoruko Wada and Mao Shimada.[5] Following the event, she said, "This is my first medal at the JGP final and I am very, very happy to have achieved that also together with my teammates."[31] Two weeks later, Nakai competed at the 2024–25 Japan Championships, where she finished fifteenth. She was subsequently named to the World Junior team.[5][32]
