Tennis Stars Find Motivation in Figure Skater’s Comeback from Teen Burnout

Tennis champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff say they're motivated by figure skater Alysa Liu's remarkable journey back to Olympic gold. Liu shocked the sports world by retiring at 16 due to burnout, only to return and end America's 20-year Olympic medal drought in women's figure skating.

INDIAN WELLS, California – Two of tennis’s biggest stars are finding motivation in an unlikely place: the ice rink. World-ranked tennis players Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff revealed they’ve been inspired by American figure skater Alysa Liu’s extraordinary comeback story during interviews ahead of the Indian Wells tournament this week.

Liu made headlines worldwide when she stepped away from competitive skating at just 16 years old following the 2022 Beijing Olympics, citing complete burnout. However, her return to competition led to a spectacular performance at last month’s Milano Cortina Games, where she ended a two-decade Olympic medal drought for American women in figure skating.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, world number two Swiatek shared her fascination with Liu’s psychological journey back to the top.

“I think overall what happened in figure skating was super interesting, from a psychological point of view,” Swiatek explained. “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,” Swiatek added.

The figure skater’s path back to success involved taking greater creative control over her career in 2024, including selecting her own music, designing programs, and choosing costumes. This approach paid off when she captured the world championship title in Boston last year.

World number four Gauff connected with Liu’s experience on a personal level, having herself entered the spotlight as a teenage athlete when she qualified for Wimbledon at age 15 in 2019. While Gauff says she hasn’t faced complete burnout, she understands the unique pressures young athletes face.

“I think her whole story was super inspiring and I could highly relate as someone who was very young put into a sport,” Gauff commented.

“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,” she continued. “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.”