Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff shared how they found motivation in American figure skater Alysa Liu's remarkable comeback from burnout to Olympic gold. Liu's return to the ice at the Milano Cortina Games after retiring at 16 stunned the world and ended a 20-year Olympic medal drought for American women in the sport.

Tennis star Swiatek, currently ranked number two in the world, reflected on Liu's journey and said, "I think overall what happened in figure skating was super interesting, from a psychological point of view. 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."

Liu's return in 2024 saw her taking more creative control over her performances, leading to her world title win in Boston last year.

Meanwhile, world number four Gauff, who burst onto the scene at 15, expressed her admiration for Liu's story, saying, "I think her whole story was super inspiring and I could highly relate as someone who was very young put into a sport. 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."

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