[5] In March 2022, it was reported that Liu and her father (who had left China as a political refugee following his participation in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989) had been targeted in November 2021 by spies allegedly under direction of the Chinese government, in an operation to collect private information on Chinese political dissidents living in the United States.

[8][9] Liu began skating at age five when her father, a fan of Michelle Kwan, brought her to the Oakland Ice Center.

She began taking group lessons with her first and childhood coach, Laura Lipetsky, a former figure skater who had trained under Frank Carroll, and quickly moved to individual sessions.

[12][13] She was first after the short program; her free skate included two triple Salchows, the first completed in combination with a double toe loop and earning her a "program-high 7.00 points".

She earned perfect scores, led the U.S. team to first place overall, and was the first American female skater to successfully complete a quadruple Lutz in competition, although not at an ISU-recognized event.

Skating to pianist Jennifer Thomas’ version of “New World Symphony," which was choreographed by Lori Nichol, Liu started her long program with a triple Axel-double toe loop combination, followed by her quadruple Lutz, which she earned 13.80 points for.

[29] In her free skate, Liu "just about held onto" her first jump, a triple Axel, but improved as she went along, completing a combination that included a double toe loop.

She qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final in second place, the first American female skater to do so since Karen Chen and Polina Edmunds in 2013, with 30 points.

[33] Liu was age-ineligible to compete in international senior-level competitions but was named to the 2020 World Junior Championships team alongside Starr Andrews and Lindsay Thorngren.

[38][41] Following the season, Liu's father decided that he no longer wanted his daughter to continue working with longtime coach, Laura Lipetsky.

She also stated that she would remain in Oakland, California as well as begin working with Canadian coaches, Lori Nichol and Lee Barkell through video conferences and occasional travels to their base in Toronto, Canada.

While struggling with her jumps due to a growth spurt, she placed fourth in the domestic ISP Points Challenge behind Mariah Bell, Bradie Tennell, and Amber Glenn.

[46] Liu was unable to compete at full strength during the event after a fall on her triple Axel in practice led to a right hip injury.

[50] In an Instagram story on June 19, 2021, Liu posted a combined, side-by-side video of her doing a triple axel and a quad lutz attempt in training in the lead-up to the 2021-22 season.

[54] Since Liu was too young to compete at both the junior and senior level World Championships, her season ended in January, after U.S. Nationals, which gave her time to work on her skating skills and choreography with Italian skater Carolina Kostner in Rome, an arrangement made by her coach, Laura Lipetsky.

She also began working with Italian choreographer and Olympic ice dancing competitor Massimo Scali, who is now based in Oakland, on her skating skills and choreography at the end of 2019.

[35] Although she failed to be the first woman at U.S. Nationals to successfully complete a quadruple Lutz, which was called under-rotated and received negative grade of execution scores, her "triple Axels were solid, and her final two spins were of surpassing quality".

[60][35] Liu competed in the fourth annual Peggy Fleming Trophy, an event for senior-level US figure skaters where skating elements are evaluated "from an artistic point of view".

[63] Liu spent the month of June training with Italian coach Lorenzo Magri in Egna, Italy, aiming to improve her jump technique with the help of the ISU technical specialist.

Liu won the competition with a total score of 205.74, ahead of You Young of South Korea and US teammate, Mariah Bell.

[67] Making her debut on the ISU Challenger series, Liu won the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy by over 32 points, successfully landing a triple Axel and receiving new personal bests.

[68] On August 30, 2021, US Figure Skating announced that Liu had been selected to compete at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, with the goal of qualifying a secured third berth for American women at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Liu made her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 Skate Canada International, where she placed fourth in the short program segment.

[74][75] In the women's event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Liu placed eighth in the short program after receiving an edge call on her flip and slightly underrotating the second part of her jump combination.

[84] On April 9, 2022, Liu announced on Instagram that she was retiring from figure skating, stating that she felt satisfied with her career, had completed her goals, and was "moving on with [her] life".

Former coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, added, "She felt she had kept up her side of the bargain with her father and the skating community in general, which was always to go to the Olympics and be the skater everyone wanted her to be.

Her early retirement marked her as the first American women’s singles skater to not bid for a second Olympics since 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes.

In the short program, she under-rotated the second half of her triple-triple combination but otherwise skated cleanly, scoring 68.83 points and ranking in first place.

[107] The A100 List is released annually by Gold House and honors the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders across a variety of industries such as business, technology, fashion and beauty, entertainment, music and sports.

When Liu started missing too many classes for travel related to competitions, she enrolled in California Connections Academy and began homeschooling at her father's law office in between practices.