Alysa Liu rewrote what was considered even remotely possible for a female figure skater as a teenager. Then she did it again upon her comeback, this time as a halo-haired prodigy lighting up the 2026 Olympics, winning hearts and medals. But two months on from her performance in Milan, Liu has already set her eyes on next season with big plans for the offseason.

After all, the 20-year-old figure skating superstar has been out of action since the Olympics. She withdrew from the 2026 World Championships to avoid burnout and has been performing in the Stars on Ice tour. But that’s not quite the same as training for Liu, with her set to use the offseason to not just return to her best but also go beyond that.

“I mean brainstorm new programs,” Liu told NBC Sports when asked what her plans were for the offseason. “I’m really excited for that and I want to get back into training. Like I already felt weaker, I wanna feel strong again. I think that’s why I like being an athlete.”

The fact that the American star is looking to create new and hopefully more awe-inspiring routines alone has excited fans. But that does come as no surprise, given that the 20-year-old has taken complete control of her career. It’s the complete opposite of what was happening when Liu was a teenager, where she was shuttled all across the US to train with coaches. Not only that, everything from her programs to her clothing and make-up was predetermined, but since her comeback, that has changed.

Instead, now Alysa Liu does everything her way, and it has clearly worked. So much so that Tara Lipinski, an Olympic champion herself, remarked during the 2026 Olympics that Liu “seems to be playing on the ice now, not performing.” That’s exactly the way everyone watching Liu felt, with one reporter even calling her gold-winning routine “the single happiest elite sporting performance.”

It’s the perfect phrase to use for Liu because it encapsulates who she is and who she has embodied since her comeback. After all, the 20-year-old is a former teenage prodigy who retired, partly due to burnout, only to rediscover her love for skating again. It’s one of the decade’s comeback stories, and, more importantly, it has changed the way the world sees Liu and figure skaters.

That has, naturally, led to an uptick in the Olympic gold medalist’s popularity, so much so that it has often become unbearable. Not always, though; Liu did confess that her life, post-Olympic fame, has become more than slightly hectic.

“It’s been pretty hectic, I will say,” Liu explained. “But I try my best to hang out with my friends, or call them and stay grounded. But yeah, I’ve been kind of all over the place. Not home very much.”

And yet, she wouldn’t change a thing because for Alysa Liu, this is exactly what she wants. It has naturally led to questions about her future and the 2030 Winter Olympics, which Liu touched on.

Alysa Liu reflects on the 2030 Winter Olympics

The next edition of the Winter Olympics is four long years down the line, with a few World Championships and countless other tournaments lined up before that. Yet the biggest question on many minds is whether Alysa Liu will be at the 2030 Winter Olympics. After all, Liu walked into Milan as a mere contender but walked out as a superstar, transforming the landscape of figure skating.

But even then, Liu has no clue what the future holds, and yet she refuses to close the door.  

“I don’t know,” Liu told Interview magazine. “I would love to do it because it’s truly the biggest stage. And what artist wouldn’t want to perform on the biggest stage? But it’s so far away. I genuinely don’t know. Also, I don’t get a say in it. I have to be selected for the team, so who knows if I can even keep up for four years.”

That’s partly because, unlike the last Olympics she participated in, Liu isn’t scared of her coaches. Instead, the 20-year-old absolutely loves Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, even saying, “Not even a question. I’m sticking with them.” It marks a complete change in attitude compared to teenage Liu, but given her situation at the time, that isn’t surprising.

More importantly, for Alysa Liu, this change has helped rediscover the part of her that’s completely obsessed with figure skating and improving herself. And her coaches have only helped guide her in the right direction. That alone is something that Liu loves because it makes her want to train and train more.

“Like, with them, it feels like I want to do this,” Liu added. “I’m not scared of them at all. When I was younger, I was scared of my old coaches. I think one big factor, the thing that really changed the sport for me, was that I’m now not scared of my coaches, I’m not scared of my team, I’m not scared of my trainers or any of them. So yeah, no stress.”

In the end, for Alysa Liu, the focus has already shifted from Olympic success to what comes next. And with a refreshed mindset and full control over her path, the offseason could be where she lays the foundation for another run at the sport’s biggest stage.