Daria Usacheva: “I haven’t completely forgotten about the injury. Sometimes I feel a sharp pain, like a needle piercing through a ligament, and I’ll bend over for a moment in pain. But then it passes.”
Interview with Daria Usacheva about her decision to retire from competitive skating due to injury, and her transition to coaching figure skating in China.
original source: Sport24 dd. October 1st 2025 by Konstantin Lesik
Former Russian figure skater Daria Usacheva speaks on her decision to retire from competitive skating due to injury, and her transition to coaching figure skating in China. She discusses her current challenges, lifestyle, and memories from her skating career, as well as her future ambitions in coaching. Here’s a translation of her comments.
From a modest ice rink with the loud name Passion Figure Skating Club, a more mature 19-year-old Daria Usacheva emerges — the Junior World Championships silver medalist. At one time, Dasha was considered one of Eteri Tutberidze’s brightest prospects and won numerous medals at the junior level, frequently competing with Kamila Valieva. However, she only participated in one full senior international competition, winning silver at a Grand Prix event in the U.S., before sustaining a severe injury that kept her from returning to the sport. Now, she has found her place in coaching. Originally from Khabarovsk, Daria is currently working under contract in Beijing, China. We discussed her new life and reminisced about her skating career.
“Daria Usacheva: I got offers for a long time, but I had doubts. At one point, I said to myself: absolutely not. One major factor against the move was the fear of being alone – I’d be bored and lonely. But all other factors were in favor. In the end, I decided I’d regret it if I declined, because living and working abroad is a fantastic experience. And Asia has such a different culture! So I thought: while I’m young and untethered, I should go for it, begins Daria.
Q: How were you invited to coach there?
Daria Usacheva: They reached out to me directly, understanding that figure skating is highly developed in Russia, where champions and specialists with great expertise in the sport are cultivated.
Chinese skaters already knew who I was and where I trained. Some even said they admired my “Never Enough” program. A few brought photos of me for signing early on, but that’s all in the past. Now, it’s just normal working life.
Q: What’s your current work schedule like?
Daria Usacheva: Since school recently started, the schedule shifted. During the summer, we began at 9:30 AM and finished at 6:00 or 7:00 PM. Now, it’s from 12:30 or 1:30 PM until 8:00 or 8:40 PM. I work six days a week, which is pretty typical in sports. I’ve adjusted to this routine. It’s tiring, but it’s completely normal, just like any other job. Nothing unusual.
Q: Will you be in China long-term? Do you have a contract?
Daria Usacheva: Yes, I have a contract, but I can’t disclose its details.
Q: Do you communicate with the students in English?
Daria Usacheva: Yes, and they understand it pretty well. Initially, it was challenging – I had to frame my thoughts in my head first, then articulate them. It’s emotionally taxing. While you’re physically on your feet all day, working in another language adds to the challenge. With time, it’s become a habit, but it still drains you emotionally. By the time I get home, I just want to be alone.
Q: Did you teach them any Russian?
Daria Usacheva: They know a few basics – I taught them words like “khorosho” (good), “plokho” (bad), “privet” (hello), “poka” (bye), “idi syuda” (come here), and “eshche raz” (once more). But mostly, we stick to English.
Q: Did you try learning Chinese?
Daria Usacheva: Originally, before coming here, I thought about hiring a tutor and picking it up. But I let go of that plan. My sister is fluent in Chinese and told me it would take a lot of time and effort to build the foundation. I realized it wasn’t worth it and decided to focus on improving my English instead. On the other hand, I’ve started learning French! For example, now I actually understand the lyrics to “Je Suis Malade,” which was used in one of my skating programs, haha! A coworker from Belgium spoke French beautifully, and it inspired me. Most of my colleagues here are Russian-speaking anyway.
Q: Tell us about your skating club.
Daria Usacheva: There’s an unusual system here that surprised me at first. It’s a commercial club, so kids can train with any coach they want. Some work exclusively with one coach, while others rotate. Group sizes are small – usually four or five kids max. This shocked me because, in Moscow, the minimum group size was ten! But this setup works here, and kids move between coaches as they wish.
Q: What level are your students at?
Daria Usacheva: I have one boy who’s landing all the triple-triple jump combinations. When I first arrived, there was a girl who could only do double jumps, but now, after training with me, she can do a double axel and a triple salchow.
I also work with very young skaters, aged 6-7, and some older kids, aged 11-13. There’s only one skater in the club who’s over 16 – the rest are much younger.
Q: Are there many competitions?
Daria Usacheva: Tons, especially in the summer! I’ve heard there can be as many as 15 skaters warming up on the ice at once. Additionally, they have tests akin to our ranking system in Russia. Kids from our club win medals regularly.
Q: Are the kids obedient?
Daria Usacheva: They’re generally quieter and more disciplined compared to Russian children. Of course, the dynamic depends on how you set boundaries in communication. After three months, we’ve bonded and gotten comfortable with each other. By now, it’s an entirely pleasant process. We chat at the beginning or end of training, but when it’s time to work, the kids get right to it without arguments.
Q: Do the skaters here see figure skating as a hobby, or do they dream of the Olympics?
Daria Usacheva: Everyone dreams of the Olympics. They work seriously, but with kids just ten years old, it’s hard to predict who will achieve that. All of them are eager to learn, pass their tests, and move forward. No one’s skating just to pass the time.
Q: You began your coaching career at Adelina Sotnikova’s school. Is that chapter now behind you?
Daria Usacheva: I think that chapter is over. Adelina and I have a good relationship; we skated together in shows and still cross paths. As for the work, yes, it’s in the past. I’m very grateful to Adelina for giving me the opportunity to try coaching at her school. You couldn’t ask for a better start to a career.
Q: Do you have a dream as a coach? Would you like your own school?
Daria Usacheva: I have big ambitions and I want to realize them. Owning a school itself is not the goal – it’s more about creating a comfortable environment to achieve bigger objectives. To say that I “dream” wouldn’t be accurate. I don’t dream; I set goals. My goal is to ensure my students achieve very high results.
Q: Do you still stay in touch with Eteri Tutberidze?
Daria Usacheva: We don’t communicate now. But I always congratulate all my coaches during the holidays and on their birthdays. These are very dear people to me, and without them, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have. I don’t know how my life would have turned out otherwise. While we don’t stay in contact, our relationship is fine.
Q: Do you use any techniques or practices from your former coaches in your work now?
Daria Usacheva: There are a few small things. For example, warm-ups. In our group, there was never a fixed warm-up routine. Daniil Markovich [Gleikhengauz] improvised different exercises and combinations, and we repeated them. Now, I do the same thing. It’s more comfortable and natural for me. Plus, it helps kids constantly learn new sequences, which is great. I continue to use this method because I think it’s the best approach for warm-ups.
Q: Looking back on your career, what would you say was the highlight or the most memorable moment?
Daria Usacheva: Well, of course, the injury in Japan is up there – how could I forget that, ha-ha! As far as competitions go, I’d say the Junior World Championships, Skate America, and the very first Channel One Cup. That competition was just wow! I still see videos circulating where, after my free program, the whole team rushed to hug me – I skated last. That moment could probably be placed at the very top of the list. Seeing the joy on their faces and hearing them cheer me on during my program – those were incredibly vivid emotions that I’ll never forget.
Q: If you had to pick your best performance at a competition, which would it be?
Daria Usacheva: The short program at Skate America. It was clean and emotional. But now, when I rewatch it, I keep noticing more and more flaws. I’ll watch it and think, “Oh no, I don’t like this part.” I guess I’m being more critical of myself now that I’m a coach. And I understand why my coaches might have criticized me back then. Still, at the time, I was fully satisfied with my performance – at least with the short program. The free skate performance, not so much.
Q: In one interview, you said that you were 90% satisfied with how you realized your potential in the sport. Has that opinion changed?
Daria Usacheva: No, it’s still more or less the same. When I look at the time I had, of course, there were things I could have done better. For example, if I’d skated clean at the first two Junior Grand Prix stages, I could have won both. Would that have changed my life significantly? No, not really.
Q: Could you have performed ultra-C (quad jumps) in competition?
Daria Usacheva: It’s possible – but it didn’t happen. Let’s just say that I could have landed all the quads.
Q: Every body has its limits.
Daria Usacheva: Probably, I could have mastered the triple axel. I even have a video from the end of the season where I’m landing it. But it was at the end of the season, and then everyone went on break. By the time the next season started, everyone was focused on preparing new programs and getting back into shape, so the triple axel was no longer a priority. The focus had shifted elsewhere. I guess I didn’t follow through on it.
Q: If you could go back in time, is there anything you’d change?
Daria Usacheva: I wouldn’t change a thing.
Q: Not even the injury?
Daria Usacheva: Not even that. At this stage in my life, I’m very happy with where I am and what I’m doing. If I changed something, my life could have unfolded differently, and I don’t want that. That means everything happened the way it was supposed to.
Q: Could the injury have been avoided in general?
Daria Usacheva: I wouldn’t presume to say. I’m not an expert when it comes to such matters. If I tried to make a judgment, it would all just be guesswork and assumptions. Somehow, the situation unfolded the way it did, and now it’s no longer a negative in my life but just something that happened. It is what it is.
I like to look at things humorously. Although, people have commented things like, “Oh, she jokes about it because it really traumatized her psychologically.” Maybe that’s true. But I’m fine with it!
I don’t sit around crying, “Oh, how terrible, how awful it was for me!” In the past, a video on social media might have triggered that type of emotion, but now I watch those moments with complete calmness.
Sometimes, if the context fits, I even joke about it. And honestly, I find it funnier than others do, because others are usually too polite to laugh. I’ve been joking about it almost since it happened.
Q: For example?
Daria Usacheva: Everyone made jokes about the wheelchair, and so did I – about the wheels, the “first step,” things like that. These jokes actually helped me psychologically. It was a great experience. My friends came to visit, and I reevaluated a lot about my life. It sounds strange, but being in a wheelchair for two months was an interesting and memorable experience.
Q: What did you reevaluate?
Daria Usacheva: I thought about why this happened, what it was trying to teach me, what the next step would be. Just diving into my own thoughts and emotions helped me get to know myself better. Spending more time alone is a wonderful way to gain deeper self-awareness.
Q: Do you still feel lingering effects from the injury? Does it hurt?
Daria Usacheva: It’s hard to say. I haven’t completely forgotten about the injury. Sometimes I feel a sharp pain, like a needle piercing through a ligament, and I’ll bend over for a moment in pain. But then it passes, and I forget about it for months. Occasionally, there’s some clicking, but overall, it doesn’t bother me much – just occasional echoes.
Q: Is it harder to maintain discipline and monitor your diet as a skater or as a coach?
Daria Usacheva: As a coach. That’s age-related. I’m returning to habits I had tried to run away from. As an athlete, I wanted to escape from strict discipline, but now I’m forcing myself back into it: avoiding unhealthy food, getting proper sleep, keeping good routines, staying active. With age, you realize you need all this for yourself. No one’s pushing you – you do it because you’ve come to the conclusion on your own.
Q: Does your brief experience in ice dance help you now?
Daria Usacheva: Yes, it’s useful. I spent only about a month training in ice dance, but I gained a lot of knowledge. It helps me now in coaching since I can offer corrections not just on jumps but also on skating skills and edges.
Q: Would you want to be a coach like Eteri Tutberidze?
Daria Usacheva: Yes, probably.
Q: What’s her strength?
Daria Usacheva: Her inner strength, which is so necessary in this work. Each coach has qualities I’d like to incorporate into my own coaching style.
Q: Which ones?
Daria Usacheva: This is my personal perspective, but I’ve realized why they work so well as a team. Each of them can be both strict and kind when needed – they strike a balance.
Daniil Markovich can crack a joke to ease tension and lighten the mood.
Sergey Viktorovich [Dudakov] impresses me with his wisdom and calmness. He communicates without unnecessary nerves, emotions, or chatter. Yet, he maintains complete control. His behavior as a coach really inspires me. Everything he does is precise, and he finds the right approach for everyone. Plus, he’s a very kind person. I simply adore him.
Eteri Georgievna is strong because of her composure. You’ll never know what she’s feeling inside; she never shows it. She’s entirely devoted to her work and her students.
Q: Would you like to perform on ice again someday – perhaps in a show?
Daria Usacheva: I’d really love to. Right now, I even have the time to get back into shape. I love skating, and I’d like to perform with quality again.”
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I loved her beautiful skating and now I’m impressed with her maturity. I hope she’ll develop into a great coach and be able to return to show skating.