Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff inspired by Alysa Liu’s journey from teen burnout to Olympic gold

The tennis greats watched Liu overcome burnout as a teenage sports star to lift the gold medal in Milano-Cortina SportTennisIga Swiatek and Coco Gauff inspired by Alysa Liu’s journey from teen burnout to Olympic goldThe tennis greats watched Liu overcome burnout as a teenage sports star to lift the gold medal in Milano-CortinaShrivathsa Sridhar Wednesday 04 March 2026 08:06 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoveropen image in galleryIga Swiatek says that Alysa Liu's journey to winning Olympic gold was inspiring (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreIga Swiatek and Coco Gauff said they drew inspiration from American figure skater Alysa Liu's dramatic return from burnout to Olympic gold, a comeback all the more remarkable considering how abruptly her career had seemed to end.Liu stunned the world by retiring aged 16 after the Beijing Games in 2022 citing burnout, but returned and put on a dazzling display at the Milano Cortina Games last month to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in the women's event."I think overall what happened in figure skating was super interesting, from a psychological point of view," Swiatek told reporters ahead of the Indian Wells tournament on Tuesday.RecommendedUS tennis tournament sets up ‘rage room’ for players to let off steam amid calls for more privacyAlysa Liu wins women’s figure skating gold to cap glittering comeback storyAlysa Liu’s father admits to making ‘mistake’ with her training before she won Olympic gold"I saw Liu winning when actually she had some troubles, like before she was burned out and she had to stop, and now she seems like everything she does, she does to have fun and to really show her amazing skills in a way that makes her happy."I haven't spoken to her ... but it's really inspiring. I'll remember it for a long time."open image in galleryAlysa Liu won gold in figure skating at the Winter Olympics after suffering burnout as a teenager (Getty Images)Liu returned to the ice in 2024 with more creative control, taking charge of her music choices, programmes and costumes, and went on to win the world title in Boston last year.Gauff added that although she had never experienced burnout, she could understand the pressure Liu was under having burst onto the scene herself as a 15-year-old qualifier at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.open image in galleryCoco Gauff said she can relate to Alysa Liu's feelings having also burst onto the scene as a teenage sports star (AP)"I think her whole story was super inspiring and I could highly relate as someone who was very young put into a sport," Gauff said."I wouldn't say I've faced burnout, but there are times you're mentally just tired of it and you feel like you're doing stuff and you don't know why."So I definitely could relate to her whole story. I was happy to see her be that voice saying the unsaid things that athletes think but are maybe scared to say."More aboutIga SwiatekCoco Gaufffigure skatingWinter OlympicsJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesCommentsMost popularPopular videosBulletinRead next