She is also the second-youngest female figure skater to win a gold medal at the Olympics; Lipnitskaya was 15 years, 249 days old when Russia won the team trophy.

While Daniela was pregnant, Vyacheslav, Yulia's father, was drafted into the Russian army and chose not to return to the family afterward.

She debuted on the Junior Grand Prix series at the Baltic Cup in Gdańsk, Poland, winning both programs to take the gold medal.

[11][12] At the Junior Grand Prix Final in Quebec, Lipnitskaya placed first in both segments to win the gold medal.

[13] Lipnitskaya won silver on the senior level at the 2012 Russian Championships, having placed third in the short program and first in the free skate.

[15] At the World Junior Championships, she won gold while achieving the junior-level ladies' record for the combined total and the free skate.

Having placed first in the short program and second in the free skate, Lipnitskaya won the silver medal at the 2012 Cup of China behind gold medalist Mao Asada.

During training on 28 November, she lost balance on the entry to a spin, split her chin, and sustained a slight concussion.

[30] Despite losing the free skate to Italy's Carolina Kostner, she still won the gold medal overall and qualified for the Grand Prix Final.

[31] At the event in Fukuoka, Japan, she placed fourth in the short program, second in the free skate, and won the silver medal behind Mao Asada.

[33] In her European Championships debut, she placed second to Sotnikova in the short program, first in the free skate, and scored a total of 209.72 points.

[36] Her coach Tutberidze said that the Russian media interest was excessive—listening devices were found in the locker room in Moscow, and reporters followed both the skater and her relatives.

[41][40] In March, Lipnitskaya received a letter from Steven Spielberg, the director of Schindler's List, praising her portrayal of the girl in the red coat.

[43][44] For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Lipnitskaya was selected to compete at the 2014 Cup of China and the 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.

She had received a call from the event organizers, informing her of the ceremony and hurried back to the rink, but it had been too late to attend.

[47] Lipnitskaya won the silver medal at the Trophée Bompard behind compatriot Elena Radionova after placing second in both segments.

[57][58] On 18 November 2015, Lipnitskaya announced that she left her longtime coaches, Eteri Tutberidze and Sergei Dudakov, to move to train under 1994 Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov, in Sochi.

[59] Then in December, she competed at the Russian Championships, where she finished in seventh place after making several mistakes in the free skate.

[61] She then competed at the 2015–16 Russian Cup Final, where she placed first in the short program, and second in the free skate, resulting in a silver medal finish behind compatriot Alena Leonova.

[62] Lipnitskaya competed at the 2016 Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck, Austria, despite her doctors recommending rest due to a hip injury.

[64] For the 2016–17 season, Lipnitskaya was assigned to two ISU Grand Prix events, the Skate America and the Rostelecom Cup.

[72] On 28 August 2017, Lipnitskaya's mother, Daniela, told TASS that her daughter had decided to retire in April after returning from three months of treatment for anorexia.

[73][74] President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Valentin Piseev, confirmed that Lipnitskaya had informed them of her decision in April and that August's announcement "did not come as a surprise".

[81] The couple have worked at the academy of Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko and frequently skate together in ice shows.