BOSTON — Alysa Liu is the first U.S. women’s singles figure skater to win a world title in 19 years, capping a comeback season after a two-year retirement.
Liu, 19, had the top short program and free skate scores for 222.97 total points. She prevailed over three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan by 4.99. Mone Chiba of Japan earned bronze.
“I’m not going to lie, this is an insane story,” Liu said on NBC Sports. “I don’t know how I came back to be world champion.”
Liu is the first U.S. women’s singles skater to win a world title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
With Isabeau Levito taking fourth and Amber Glenn fifth, the U.S. put three women into the top five at worlds for the first time since 2001 (Michelle Kwan, Sarah Hughes, Angela Nikodinov). That was also the last time an American woman won worlds in the pre-Olympic year.
All three could make the team for the Milan Cortina Games — named after next January’s U.S. Championships — and bid to become the first U.S. woman to win Olympic singles gold since Hughes in 2002.
Liu, who in 2019 became the youngest U.S. champion in history at age 13, retired at 16 after a world bronze medal in 2022, tired of a sport that felt like a job.
She came back this season — extracting her skates from a closet after trekking in the Himalayas — and found joy on the ice.
The old (young) Liu landed a triple Axel at age 12 — the youngest woman to do so — and a quadruple jump at 14 — the first American woman to do so. The new Liu won the world title with neither, though coach Phillip DiGuglielmo said she can do the Axel.
“Personally, I can be so much better,” Liu said, reflecting on the season. “That’s why I call this a starter season because this season is me picking up the pieces. So I don’t know how I just did this.”
Liu landed seven triple jumps in Friday’s program. All 12 of her technical elements received positive grades of execution. Her free skate score of 148.39 was her best this season by 16.93 points. She had entered worlds seeded eighth in the field by best total international score in 2024-25.
The 2024 World silver medalist Levito, off the ice for most of an October-to-January stretch with a foot injury, rallied in her free skate after a fall on her opening jump combination.
“I missed a large part of the season and felt like it was (wasted), but after how this competition went, I honestly don’t even remember that part,” Levito said. “This just feels really good.”
The U.S. champion Glenn improved from ninth after the short program for her best worlds finish in three appearances.
Glenn was the only woman to attempt a triple Axel in the free, though she didn’t land it clean. She entered worlds as the top skater this season with wins in all five of her starts.
“I was really proud of the fight that I had out there, and that I stayed calm and that I finished on a positive note on the season,” Glenn said.
Worlds conclude Saturday with the free dance (1:30-5 p.m. ET on Peacock and 3-5 p.m. on USA Network) and men’s free skate (6-10 p.m. on Peacock and 8-10 p.m. on NBC and Peacock).
2025 World Figure Skating Championships Results
Women
Gold: Alysa Liu (USA) -- 222.97
Silver: Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) — 217.98
Bronze: Mone Chiba (JPN) -- 215.24
4. Isabeau Levito (USA) — 209.84
5. Amber Glenn (USA) — 205.65
6. Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) -- 204.58
7. Nina Pinzarrone (BEL) -- 199.43
8. Niina Petrokina (EST) -- 196.67
9. Lee Hae-In (KOR) -- 194.36
10. Kim Chae-Yeon (KOR) -- 194.16
