Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu is taking the 2026-27 figure skating season off from competition and plans to return for the 2027-28 season.
"While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season," she posted. "I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry & skating can evolve. It’s important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I’m gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot. So fear not, I’ll be back, & in the meantime I’ll be rooting for my teammates near & far. See yall soon!!"
In an interview, Liu said she plans to continue training during her break and work on her craft — "overall artistry, spins, jumps, everything."
"I really want to improve my skating, and I wanted to take the time to do that for myself and just to evolve," she said, "and then I'll be back after that is done. But I'll still be cheering on all my competitors and my teammates, and I'm really excited."
She added, "Logically and emotionally and physically, this just makes the most sense. I will miss seeing the international competitors at all the international (competitions), but there will be more, so it's fine."
Liu assessed how she felt earlier this summer, saying "I just felt this was right. So I'm trusting my instincts."
Her coaches in the Bay Area, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, were part of the decision-making process.
"I came to them, and they totally understood where I was coming from," Liu said. "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."
Alysa Liu’s new reality is a post-Olympic spotlight for a new age for figure skatingAlysa Liu’s coach said of her popularity, “She is just exploding. Even her agents are overwhelmed.”Liu, 21, became the first American to win Olympic women's singles gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002 when she prevailed in Milan in February.
A whirlwind of off-ice opportunities followed, leading her to miss the World Championships in March after winning that title in 2025.
She still stayed busy on skates, performing with her Olympic teammates on the nationwide Stars on Ice tour in April and May.
Off the ice, she shared a moment with Taylor Swift, appeared in a music video for the artist Laufey, whose music she skated to the last two seasons, and attended the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week.
Liu previously retired at age 16 after her Olympic debut in 2022, then returned starting with the 2024-25 campaign with a newfound love for the sport. She capped that first season back by becoming the first U.S. women's singles skater to win a world title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
How Alysa Liu rediscovered figure skating and came out of retirementAlysa Liu returns to top-level figure skating competition this month after a two-year retirement."Really the only word that comes to mind when I think about my entire journey is grateful," Liu said Tuesday. "I got on board with the coolest people. I have the best team. I've gotten to compete with the coolest skaters, and it's been really fun, and I think the reason why it's been so fun is because I have my own agency, I guess. I really like to skate, and so that's why I skate."
She had been scheduled to compete at Saatva Skate America from Nov. 13-15 in Everett, Washington.
The U.S. lineup for Skate America still includes 2026 Olympic team gold medalists Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn, plus 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist Jason Brown, two-time U.S. pairs' champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov and the top U.S. ice dance couple competing this season, Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik.
Liu plans to stay in touch with the sport.
"I always want to support my teammates, so I'll be around," she said. "I won't be radio silent, and whatever opportunity arises, I will probably be there to support in some way."
Madison Chock, Evan Bates take break from ice dance competitionEvan Bates said that he and Madison Chock will not compete this upcoming season.
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