Alysa Liu Becomes First U.S. World Champion Since 2006

In an electric evening inside Boston’s T.D. Garden, 19-year-old figure skater Alysa Liu secured her first world title in the women’s singles competition. Liu’s historic win marks the United States’ first women’s singles title since Kimmie Meissner achieved the feat in 2006.

Heading into Friday’s competition with a stunning lead, Liu delivered another near-faultless performance, this time to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park.” As she wrapped her final spin to the disco tunes, the 19,000-person-plus packed T.D. Garden grew as loud as it sounded during the 2024 NBA Finals.

The audience erupted as she held her final pose, and Liu looked stunned. She had successfully gone two for two on skates in her first return to the World Championships since winning a silver medal in 2022. This was also her first return since her abrupt retirement in mid-2022. Regardless of the medal color, Liu had delivered.

When her score flashed at 222.97 total, her look of disbelief returned. She had just made history – and defeated the world’s best in her climb to the top. En route to her title, Liu defeated the three-time defending World Champion, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto. After a subpar skate during Wednesday’s short program, Sakamoto redeemed herself with a spectacular free skate on Friday to renew her podium chances.

After the final results were posted, Liu quickly embraced Sakamoto, and both athletes broke into tears. Those tears promptly turned into celebratory high-fives. The new World Champion would tell former U.S. Figure Skater Ashley Wagner that Sakamoto “inspires her,” but she wanted to keep the rest of their conversation private.

In third was Japan’s Mone Chiba, with what announcers described as a “special” free skate program. Chiba didn’t put a foot (or skate) wrong in Boston, landing all her jumps cleanly, except for a few slight under rotations.

Liu’s fellow Americans, Isabeau Levito and gold-medal favorite Amber Glenn, finished just off the podium in fourth and fifth. Levito entered Friday in third place, but dropped to fourth after falling on her jump combination. While Glenn redeemed her short program fall with a solid free skate, tonight’s performance was not enough to overcome Wednesday’s deficit.

Despite missing the podium, Levito, Glenn, and Liu helped secure three spots for the U.S. women’s team at the upcoming 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games. Thus, for the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the 2025 World Championships marked a mission accomplished.

Alysa Liu will still need time to process her historic win. When pressed to share her emotions, she told reporters that she still “hadn’t been able to process her short program” from Wednesday. Ultimately, Liu summarized her reaction, drawing a chorus of laughs from the packed crowd: “What the hell?”

Whether she believes it or not, for the first time since 2006, the best figure skater in women’s skating is an American: Alysa Liu.

ForbesAlysa Liu Stuns Field To Lead ISU World Figure Skating ChampionshipsBy Caroline Price