United States figure skater Brady Tennell has addressed rumors that he is closing his eyes after pulling out of the 2026 World Championships.
“I wanted to jump in here to talk about a few things that I’ve seen going around since the Worlds were announced,” Tennell, 28, wrote on her Instagram Stories on Saturday, March 7, referring to her choice not to compete in this year’s ISU World Figure Skating Championships. “The decision to quit my game was not mine.”
He continued, “It’s not something I did easily. There was a lot of thought and a lot of reasons — I didn’t pass, and (thankfully) I didn’t get hurt.”
Although Tennell did not say why he planned to skip Worlds, he insisted on Saturday that he is not ready to retire.
“Please don’t mistake this as a retirement announcement because it doesn’t mean that,” said the athlete. “Two completely different decisions. Thank you for all the concern and support. I am doing well and I am very happy to please the away team.”
The 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships will take place in Prague starting Tuesday, March 24, where the world’s top athletes compete in the men’s, women’s, pair and ice dance categories.
Tennell made her Olympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games, where she helped Team USA win bronze in the team event. Tennell sat out the next round of the Olympics amid a series of injuries. He returned to competition before the 2026 Games, finishing fourth at the 2026 US Nationals in the back. Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu again Isabel Levito. (The three make up Team USA’s women’s figure skating squad for the 2026 Olympics, where Liu, 20, walked away with the gold medal. The U.S. team also won first place in the team event.)
“It took me a while to sort out some of my feelings about country people,” Tennell wrote on Instagram in January. “These national players were more than being placed with medals. I have never skated with the joy and love of this sport as I did last week. I entered this tournament knowing that making the team was a difficult thing. I also knew that I wanted to go out and skate my skates which I was not able to do four years ago.”
Tennell suffered a season-ending ankle injury in 2023, and underwent surgery before returning to the ice after a full recovery.
“My intention was [about] happiness and leaving on the ice every day I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said in his January statement. It wasn’t quick or without setbacks — recovery is not a line. But when I look back at who I was, I see a girl who picked herself up many times and showed the world that she’s not afraid of failure. And I’m proud of her. Without her, this woman wouldn’t be the athlete I am.”
