Figure Skater Alysa Liu Stages Remarkable Comeback After 2-Year Retirement

The 20-year-old Olympic gold medalist took a break from the sport at 16 to pursue a more normal teenage life, then returned to win the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.

Feb. 20, 2026 at 9:55am

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Alysa Liu, the youngest U.S. figure skating champion at age 13 and the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in international competition, announced her retirement from the sport at 16. After a two-year break to pursue other interests, Liu returned to the ice and has since won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships and an Olympic gold medal in the team event at the Milan Cortina Games. The 20-year-old is now set to compete in the women's singles event at the Olympics.

Why it matters

Liu's remarkable comeback after a two-year retirement defies conventional wisdom about quitting a sport and then returning to elite-level competition. Her story highlights the importance of taking breaks and the value of pursuing other interests, which can ultimately strengthen an athlete's passion and performance when they return to their sport.

The details

At 16, Liu said she "hated skating" and had been planning her exit for a year before retiring. She spent the next two years pursuing a more normal teenage life, spending time with family and friends, graduating high school, traveling, and even taking up a new sport - skiing. One day, she ventured back onto the ice with a friend and realized she enjoyed it again. Liu then approached her longtime coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, about a comeback, which he initially resisted before being convinced.

  • Liu became the youngest U.S. figure skating champion at age 13 in 2019.
  • Liu announced her retirement from figure skating at age 16 in 2022.
  • Liu spent the next two years, from 2022 to 2024, pursuing other interests and activities outside of figure skating.
  • Liu resumed training with her coach Phillip DiGuglielmo in 2024 and made her competitive comeback.
  • Liu won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships and the Olympic gold medal in the team event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

The players

Alysa Liu

A 20-year-old American figure skater who is the youngest U.S. figure skating champion and the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in international competition. She retired from the sport at 16 but has since made a remarkable comeback, winning the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships and an Olympic gold medal.

Phillip DiGuglielmo

Liu's longtime coach who has worked with her since she was 5 years old. He initially resisted Liu's idea to make a comeback after her two-year retirement but was eventually convinced.

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What they’re saying

“I said, 'Please don't.' I really did. I said, 'Please don't. Respect your legacy as an Olympic bronze medalist.'”

— Phillip DiGuglielmo, Liu's coach

“We had a Zoom call for two hours. The story is, I had a lot of glasses of wine over those two hours. And she talked me into a comeback.”

— Phillip DiGuglielmo, Liu's coach

“It makes me think if I was one of those athletes, I'd be like, 'Why did I just skate for the last year? I could have taken a vacation for two years. But that's Alysa. She's different.”

— Phillip DiGuglielmo, Liu's coach

“I have a perspective not many of the athletes in the sport have. So many people, their goal is the Olympics, and when they get there, and it's over, they don't know what to do. I'm really just doing this for fun.”

— Alysa Liu

What’s next

Liu will compete in the women's singles figure skating event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday.

The takeaway

Liu's story shows that taking a break from a sport, even at the highest levels, can ultimately reinvigorate an athlete's passion and lead to remarkable comebacks. Her ability to step away, pursue other interests, and then return to the ice with a renewed sense of purpose and joy for the sport is an inspiring example for other athletes.