Alysa Liu, the 2019 world junior champion from the United States, is competing in her first full senior season since announcing her retirement at age 16 in April 2022.[1][2]

Liu won the 2019 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in women's singles and became the youngest U.S. senior ladies champion in 2019 at age 13.[1][3] She placed fifth at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships before stepping away from the sport.

Her father, Arthur Liu, attributed the retirement to mental health challenges, telling USA Today that she had become unhappy, avoided ice rinks, and was suffering from trauma and PTSD.[4] Arthur Liu, a Chinese dissident, has alleged prior surveillance attempts by agents linked to the Chinese government ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.[5]

Liu returned to competition in October 2024, winning gold at the U.S. Classic with a total score of 213.56 points.[2] At the Grand Prix Skate America in Lake Placid, New York, from November 20-23, 2024, she finished seventh with 188.47 points (64.15 short program, 124.32 free skate).[6]

The 2024-25 Grand Prix series is part of the lead-up to the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Halifax, Canada, scheduled for March 24-30.[7] Qualification for the U.S. team will be determined at the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, from January 5-19.[8]

No American woman has won a senior World Figure Skating Championships gold medal since Kimmie Meissner's victory in 2006.[1]

Sources

1. International Skating Union, Alysa Liu Biography, accessed November 30, 2024, https://results.isu.org/bios/isufs00014304.htm
2. U.S. Figure Skating, Alysa Liu | U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone, accessed November 30, 2024, https://www.usfigureskating.org/athletes/figure/alyas-liu
3. U.S. Figure Skating, 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships official results, March 2019, https://results.usfigureskating.org/results/2019FS/2019fsc01.htm
4. USA Today, "World junior champion Alysa Liu retires from figure skating at 16", April 4, 2022, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/figure-skating/2022/04/04/alysa-liu-retires-figure-skating/7260582001/
5. Fox News, "Olympic hopeful Alysa Liu reveals Chinese spies targeted her family before Beijing Games", October 25, 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/sports/olympic-hopeful-alysa-liu-reveals-chinese-spies-targeted-family-beijing-games
6. International Skating Union, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Skate America 2024 - Ladies Results, November 23, 2024, http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2425/gpusa2024/index.htm