Why Alysa Liu stepping away might make figure skating's biggest star even better
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BOSTON - Fifty-two stories above the city where Alysa Liu cinched her remarkable comeback, winning the World Championships after a two-year hiatus, fans lined up on the Prudential Center's observation deck, waiting their turn for a photo with the Olympic champion.
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The night before, the 21-year-old from Richmond took to Instagram to tell fans they'd have to wait for her return to competitive ice, announcing her plan to sit out the 2026-27 season. But she promised she'd be back.
Liu had come to Boston to headline "US Figure Skating x Fashion: Styling 2027" and the "Summer Sizzler," a preseason show designed for skaters to showcase their new competitive programs. Fans wondered how Liu would top her "MacArthur Park" free skate, which delivered both her world title in 2025 and Olympic gold in 2026. But now, they have to wait.
Liu greeted fans next to a display of skating dresses that glittered in the setting sun; the centerpiece was the bedazzled gold disco dress that had been custom made for her freeskate in Milan. Now, Liu wore shorts and a T-shirt.
"This is full Nike," Liu said. "I got two Nike shirts on. They're stacked on top of each other. I got these Nike shorts, Nike shoes."
A security guard stood at Liu's side as fans took their turn being photographed with the biggest star U.S. Figure Skating has seen in decades. Fans circled the observation deck, getting a close look at skating dresses worn by other American women who'd won Olympic figure skating gold: Tenley Alright, Carol Heiss, and Tara Lipinski. But mostly they wanted to take a photo with Liu.
After a spring of red carpets - sporting Louis Vuitton at the Met Gala and ESPYs - Liu looked ready for a chill night with friends. The top U.S. skaters were gathered in Boston for Champs Camp, a preseason training event that U.S. Figure Skating now pairs with fan-focused season launch events. Liu had been reunited with Olympic teammates she'd crisscrossed the country with for two months on the Stars on Ice tour, goofing off on a tour bus as she became a household name.
"I love coming to camps. They're just a good communion event for us. Of course, we work hard, I guess, at them. But it's mostly for reuniting with each other," Liu told the Chronicle.
Liu's decision to sit out the upcoming competitive season was all the talk in Boston.
At a live show of "The Runthrough," a popular figure skating podcast hosted by Olympians Ashley Wager and Adam Rippon and NBC producer Sarah Hughes, Hughes read out Liu's Instagram post from the night before:
"To my supporters,
"While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season. 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"
Wagner and Rippon applauded Liu's decision. "I feel like it would be crazy for her to skate this season just because of all of the opportunities that are coming her way," Rippon said.
On Thursday night, fans lined up outside the Skating Club of Boston for a chance to see Liu skate at the Summer Sizzler.
Before the show, Liu bounced into the doorway of a press conference, insisting that Olympic teammates Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik watch a video on her phone. The trio giggled as reporters waited for Liu to take her place.
There, Liu cited time as the main reason for her break. "Time, I don't got a lot of that. And I want to really work on my dancing and choreography and stuff like that. So I thought it'd be best to skip the competitions this season so I can really hone in on, like, the blueprints that I want to do," she said.
Dancing will be part of her year away from competition. "I love dancing a lot, and I'm going to do more of that this year," Liu said. And a dream she'd still like to accomplish? "A week where I do nothing," she said. "It's planned. But it has yet to happen."
At the Summer Sizzler, Liu danced in the center of the ice, opening the iconic program that broke the internet–that had soccer teams and grandmothers posting their re-creation of Liu's choreography to "Stateside" by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson.
Phones lit up the stands of the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center, the Skating Club of Boston's in-house performance venue. Everyone wanted their own recording of Liu's viral program. Tenley Albright herself - now 91, fifty years out from her own Olympic gold in Cortina d'Ampezzo - sat in the front row. Albright was the first American woman to win Olympic gold in figure skating, and tonight she applauded the eighth and newest addition to this exclusive club.
Like Albright, Liu simply loves figure skating. She nevertheless retired at age 16, but returned to become a world champion at 19, and an Olympic champion at 20. It seems unlikely she'll stay away from her sport for long.
Patrice Hutton is a freelance writer based in Baltimore. Her skating and other writing can be found at patricehutton.com
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