Liu to Make Senior Grand Prix Debut at Skate Canada with the Olympics on the Horizon

When the world was first introduced to Alysa Liu, she was winning the junior title at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships as a 12-year-old, becoming the youngest senior U.S. champion at 13 in 2019 and youngest back-to-back U.S. champion in 2020.
 
Suddenly, however, Liu's time to really shine isn't in the future. It's now.
 
Of course, she's had her fair share of success at the junior level, winning her two Junior Grand Prix assignments in 2019 before taking silver at that year's Junior Grand Prix Final, and winning bronze at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020.
 
But when she won her first senior U.S. title, she couldn't even compete at the junior level internationally yet. And the 2021-22 season -- Olympic season -- is the first year she's eligible to compete internationally as a senior.
 
Maybe not the ideal situation, but the 16-year-old has taken it all in stride.
 
"I don't really feel that much pressure," Liu said. "I never really have, but especially now. After last season, I was thinking about why I skate, and now I feel even less pressure because now I know that I'm skating for myself. Last season solidified that idea. So I don't feel too much pressure (from) outside. Obviously, I still push myself, but I don't pressure myself."
 
Liu will make her senior Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada International, Oct. 29-31 in Vancouver.
 
The 2020-21 season was an odd one for everyone, perhaps particularly for Liu. All Junior Grand Prix events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Liu's only competitions prior to the U.S. Championships in January were virtual. But she had also hit puberty, so the quadruple jumps and triple Axels that had become her calling card were suddenly nowhere to be found.
 
Liu used the extended time without competitions to focus on her performance and skating skills, morphing into a more well-rounded skater, and finished fourth at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
 
Though it snapped her streak of consecutive titles, Liu says the placement wasn't a disappointment.
 
"I mainly took something away from the feeling I had while I was competing, because before I struggled with nerves a lot before competitions, and I would shake during my programs," she said. "At nationals (U.S. Championships) last year, I really tried to see why I was shaking in the competition, what I was thinking during the competition. Now I can just move forward with that, so when I add more difficult elements to my programs, I don't have to shake anymore and I can be more confident."
 
Yes, fear not -- the plan is to add the quads back in.
 
"I'm hoping to do quads in competition soon," Liu said. "I don't know how soon, but hopefully soon. I've been training it in practice, so now it's just about adding it into my program."
 
Thus far this season, she hasn't needed quads to get back to her winning ways. She's won each of her competitions so far, taking the top spot at the Cranberry Cup and the Lombardia Trophy before heading to the Nebelhorn Trophy and winning that too.
 
Her win at Nebelhorn also secured a third Olympic berth for the U.S. women at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
 
"It's definitely good to have (a few wins), and also the experiences from those competitions was really cool," Liu said. "I've really liked doing a few international competitions. I definitely feel better now, and I'm glad that I can compete again."
 
And even though it's the Olympic season, Liu says things haven't felt any different.
 
"It might just be because, the last few internationals I've had, I've been doing it with a lot of my friends, so it didn't really feel like a heavy atmosphere," Liu said. "It's definitely a lot less stressful."
 
Heading into her first senior Grand Prix, Liu hopes to gain as much experience as she can before the calendar flips to 2022.
 
Since last season, Liu says she and her coaching team of Massimo Scali, Jeremy Abbott and Lorenzo Magri have worked on improving pretty much everything, from skating skills and spins to jumps and injury prevention -- trying to stay healthy during the most important season of her career to date. Now she has the chance to see where she stands among the world's top skaters.
 
"I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm excited," Liu said. "I'm excited because it's more experience before U.S. Championships, so I'm definitely going to be thinking about the Olympics. I'm going to keep that in mind so I can use these Grand Prixes to see where I'm at and what I need to improve. I'm definitely looking forward to that."
 
When it comes to her goals for this season, Liu hopes to continue working on the performance aspect of her skating.
 
"I want to work on performing more in my programs, especially now that I'm going be adding more difficult technical elements," she said. "I want to make sure that my performance is still up there, compared to when I don't do the harder elements. I want more of a full package. I'm definitely going to be focusing on that for the rest of my competitions leading up to the Olympics."
 
The Olympics, of course, is where Liu hopes to end up when February rolls around.
 
It's a tall task for a skater only just making her senior international debut.
 
"Sometimes I think about it, but honestly I think I'm okay with it being my first year in senior. I guess it's more of a challenge," she admitted with a laugh. "But I like challenges."

Fans can watch the action in Vancouver live and on-demand on Peacock Premium. Check out the Grand Prix Series Competition Central page to follow Team USA throughout the season.