American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu has just revealed her plans for the upcoming season. She has announced that she will be sitting out for the 2026-27 season, but has reassured fans that she will return.

In a post shared on Liu’s personal Instagram profile on August 25, Liu announced that she is taking time off to “recalibrate” and “fine-tune” her training in preparation for the future.

“While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season,” Liu wrote in her Instagram post. “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.”

This is not the first time Liu has stepped away from the rink. She had first announced her retirement from competitive figure skating in 2022, after competing at the Beijing Olympics. 

“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,” Liu added in the August 25 Instagram post.

Liu not only made a comeback in 2024 but also went on to win gold at the 2025-26 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win first place since 2002.

Liu’s comments once again point to her focus on leading a balanced life, even outside of her sport. In the two years when she wasn’t performing competitively, Liu focused on school, studies, and personal growth.

This time, Liu has made it clear that she is not retiring, but simply taking a break. But many fans might ask: why did Alysa Liu retire in 2022 in the first place?

Why Alysa Liu temporarily retired from competitive skating

According to a February 2026 report by Sports Illustrated, Liu announced her decision to hang up her skates at just 16, an age when most other skaters prepared to break into the Olympics.

Just like this time, she broke the news via social media and shook the internet.

"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 wrote in an Instagram post, per SI. "i honestly never thought i would’ve accomplished as much as i did LMAOO i’m so happy. i feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone." 

Liu’s exceptional skills began to be recognized early in her career. She won gold at U.S. national championships in 2019 and 2020, and won the bronze medal in the Women’s Singles division in the 2022 Montpellier Championship in France.

She also became the first American woman and the youngest skater ever to land a quadruple jump at just 13 years of age. But Liu professed to miss having a normal life, spending time with her friends and family, and focusing on her studies.

After her two-year break, during which she even hiked to the base camp of Mount Everest, Liu finally felt her love for skating and the itch to compete return. And she proved that she still had what it took to win, and proved it in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Written by

Arundhoti Palit

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit