Alysa Liu becomes the first U.S. woman to win a world title since 2006, after having returned to international competition only last October, her first since winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships.

Alysa Liu, who walked away from figure skating at age 16 and returned last year, won the 2025 world championship on Friday.

Alysa Liu never expected to win the world championships. After all, the 19-year-old figure skater retired from the sport three years ago, only returning to training again a year ago and international competition six months ago.