why did alysa liu retire

Alysa Liu retired from competitive figure skating in 2022 at just 16 mainly because she felt she had already achieved her goals in the sport and wanted a more normal teenage life with friends, family, and new experiences.

Quick Scoop: Why did Alysa Liu retire?

1. She hit her main goals early

• Alysa said she had two big goals in skating:
  1. Compete at the Olympics.
  2. Have fun with her skating friends and enjoy the journey.
• After skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics and then winning a bronze medal at the World Championships, she felt those goals were completed and that there wasn’t much else she personally wanted to chase in the sport.

She described it as feeling like she had done everything she wanted in skating, almost like she was “graduating” rather than quitting.

2. The grind and pressure were taking a toll

• Years of intense training, travel, and competition meant constant stress and very little free time.
• Skating had consumed her whole life to the point where she felt “trapped and stuck” in the sport, which pushed her toward stepping away once her main goals were done.

• Retiring gave her a way to leave on a high note instead of dragging herself through more seasons she didn’t truly want.

3. She wanted her teenage years back

• After retiring following Worlds 2022, she focused on things she’d barely had time for:
  • Getting her driver’s license.
  • Spending time with friends and family.
  • Traveling (including a trip to Everest base camp).
  • Going to college and studying subjects she enjoys, like psychology.

• She has talked about how good it felt to finally be able to go to family events and friends’ parties and to experience “real life” outside the rink.

4. Not a scandal, just a choice

• There was no big public scandal or single dramatic incident tied to her retirement.
• It was more a combination of: feeling she’d kept her side of the “bargain” by going to the Olympics, achieving major medals, and then wanting control over her own life and happiness.

• She framed it positively, saying it felt more like graduating than giving up, and that she chose friends, family, and her own well‑being over staying in a system that no longer made her happy.

5. The story didn’t end there

• In later years, Alysa eventually found her love for skating again and returned to the sport on her own terms, with more balance, autonomy, and a clearer sense of identity beyond skating.

• That comeback arc—leave at 16, live a “normal” life for a while, then return as a more mature and self-directed skater—is a big part of why she’s such a talked‑about figure online right now.

TL;DR: Alysa Liu retired because she had already hit her biggest goals (Olympics and medals), felt burned out and boxed in by the sport, and wanted to reclaim her teenage years and live a fuller life outside the rink.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.