The judges rated Shcherbakova's performance at 80.31 points.
The second place, despite the fall, is taken by Kamila Valieva - 79.99 points.
Daria Usacheva closes the top three with 76.72 points.
Alexandra Trusova scored 75.76 points and took fourth place, and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva with 73.56 points became the fifth.
The athletes will present their free program on December 26.
Earlier it was reported that Evgeni Plushenko reacted to Trusova's marks for the short program in the Chechen Republic.