In the 2001–02 season, Slutskaya won all five of her meetings with Kwan, however, she also saw a new challenge from the 2001 World bronze medalist, Sarah Hughes. After winning her first Goodwill Games title, she finished second to Hughes at Skate Canada International and then took gold at Cup of Russia. At the Grand Prix Final, Slutskaya performed well to win the first two segments of the event, but her second free skating contained only three clean triples. Three judges placed her third behind Kwan and Hughes but four others placed her first, giving Slutskaya her third GPF title. She then took her third straight Russian national title but lost her European title to Maria Butyrskaya. Third in the short program after a fall, she placed first in the free skating but it was not enough to overcome her deficit.