Why Did Team USA’s Alysa Liu Quit Skating? Her Retirement & Return Ahead of 2026 Olympics

Alysa Liu is one of the ice princesses representing the United States of America in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics. At just 20 years old, this is already her second trip to the Olympics, but she almost wasn’t going to be a participant in 2026.

In fact, Liu actually retired from gymnastics after the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, only to return to the sport professionally just two years later.

Scroll down for everything we know about Liu’s retirement, why she decided to make a comeback, and more.

Why did Alysa Liu quit skating?

On April 9, 2022, Liu announced her retirement in a now-deleted Instagram post. “I started skating when I was 5 so that’s about 11 years on the ice and it’s been an insane 11 years,” she explained, adding that competing at the Olympics was always her goal, which she had achieved at that point.

“I made the decision for myself a while ago, way before the Olympics,” Liu continued. “My only goal was to go to the Olympics. I’m only 16. I want to do other stuff.” Liu said the decision was “selfish” and made “purely for myself.”

After making her comeback, she explained to Cosmopolitan, “There was nothing more I wanted than to just be with my friends and my family, and skating had nothing to do with that at that point.” She also told U.S. Figure Skating that she wanted to experience a normal school experience, since she’d been homeschooled up until then.

She also recalled the monotonous and lonely days of training, telling the Associated Press, “I would live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, in a dorm by myself. I would eat their food. I went to the rink, skated, ate lunch there, skated some more. Went back to the dorm. I didn’t go anywhere. I didn’t see anything. I was just there. And so all that, I was like, ‘Skating is not worth it.’ Like, this is not worth it.'”

Why did Alysa Liu come out of retirement?

Liu announced her comeback to figure skating in March 2024, nearly two years after retiring. She said she made the decision after a ski trip on winter break from school in early 2024.

“I hadn’t felt that adrenaline rush, I guess, since I’d quit skating,” Liu shared. “It feels so similar to skiing. And so after I skied, I was like, ‘Wait, let me get on the ice and see what it feels like.'” It was her first time on the ice since summer 2022, and when she realized she could still perform some of her old tricks, Liu was inspired to keep coming back and trying more.

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In her interview with Cosmopolitan, Liu added that skating “gave me something to be strong for,” and said that she’s started to care about other aspects of the sport as well. “Now, I love skating dresses and helping with the design process,” she gushed. “The sport is kind of an outlet for me. I love dance and music, so it’s everything in one.”

Now that she’s back on the ice, Liu has more creative control over her experience, which has been a plus. “I wanted to pick my own music, help design my own costumes, ‘cause I developed my own taste and my own style,” she told The Player’s Tribune. “This is my sport, my program. Why wouldn’t I want to be wearing what I want to wear?”

Is Alysa Liu retiring after the 2026 Olympics?

So far, Liu has not announced her plans for the future of her skating career after the 2026 Games. “So many people ask me if I am going to retire after this year, and I really thought about their question,” she admitted to Cosmopolitan. “I cannot imagine not skating in a year. I can’t imagine next year being off the ice.”

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