Alysa Liu announced on August 25, 2026, that she will not compete during the 2026 to 2027 figure skating season. The decision comes after the 24-year-old skater won gold in women’s singles and the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. In a message to followers, the American athlete said she wants time to recalibrate, improve her artistry, and let her skating reflect her personal growth. She plans to return for the 2027 to 2028 season.
“I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry [and] skating can evolve,” she said. “It’s important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I’m gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things [and] whatnot.”
“Fear not, I’ll be back, [and] in the meantime I’ll be rooting for my teammates near [and] far,” she concluded her statement on both her Instagram account and Stories.
Liu will continue training during the break, focusing on spins, jumps, and her overall artistry. Her Bay Area coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, supported her choice and understood why she wanted to step back from competition.
“I came to them, and they totally understood where I was coming from. I did have to explain a little bit, but they didn’t think I needed to justify my reason for it or anything. So it was really chill,” Liu revealed.
This is the second major break in Liu’s career. After making her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, she retired at age 16 and stayed away from competition for about two years. She returned in 2024 and won the 2025 World Championships. Her latest decision follows one of the biggest seasons of her career, in which she reached popularity beyond the sports world thanks to her viral choreography of Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Staside” on the ice rink.