Adeliia Petrosian Leaves Coach Eteri Tutberidze

On 20 July, the figure skating world was stunned by the news: skater Adeliia Petrosian left coach Eteri Tutberidze. Neither side has commented on the reasons.

Just two days earlier, Petrosian had given a public interview. It is known that she had recently been treating injuries and considering university studies.

Here is everything known about the skater«s departure from the star coach, the possible reasons and consequences of this decision.

Departure

Adeliia Petrosian posted a farewell message on her Telegram channel. In it, she thanked Tutberidze and other coaches and wished their athletes well.

«Thank you for the amazing programs, for all our victories and the tremendous experience I gained alongside you. I have endless respect for you and appreciate everything that was done for me. May everything go well for you and your athletes,» wrote Adeliia.

She added that the decision was difficult. Petrosian joined Tutberidze«s group in 2019. Previously, she trained under Irina Strakhova and Alexei Shemet at the Moskvich Sports School (SShOR).

Injuries and Future Plans

It is known that the skater has recently faced a series of injuries. In the spring and summer of last year, Petrosian experienced pain from a groin muscle injury; in the offseason, she treated a hip injury; and during the Olympics, she suffered from back pain.

«It was expected in the community that Adeliia might miss the upcoming season or significantly reduce her competitive load. No one expected her to leave Tutberidze,» emphasized sports commentator Vlad Zhukov.

However, there were signs indicating an intention to «slow down» her sports career. For example, Adeliia enrolled in GITIS (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts) in the ballet master department — and, as Zhukov writes, planned to focus on her studies.

«Before leaving Eteri Tutberidze, the skater was not actively preparing for the season and was attending about 1–2 training sessions a week,» the commentator writes on his Telegram channel. «Another detail — Adeliia Petrosian did not even have programs set for the season. There was talk that they were »being thought about,« but every day the certainty grew that they would not materialize.»

Why Did Petrosian Leave?

Enrolling in university was not the only sign that Petrosian had long been thinking about leaving. The Olympic season was extremely difficult for her. Adeliia finished only in sixth place, faced widespread criticism and enormous pressure.

«When you land a quadruple toe loop, how can you not include it? It just didn»t go up, of course, it«s a pity. That»s her inner state — it slightly broke her,« said Tatiana Tarasova on the Okko broadcast right after Petrosian»s performance.

Interestingly, in her farewell post, the skater made no mention of the Olympics and did not include any photos from it. Perhaps she still finds it difficult to remember the Olympic season.

Another factor could be that Tutberidze currently has quite a few senior female skaters. She coaches Alexandra Trusova, Daria Sadkova, Sofia Akatieva, and Dina Khusnutdinova. Petrosian may have suspected that after an unsuccessful Olympics, she would no longer be the center of the coach«s attention.

According to those in the sports community, Tutberidze will likely focus on Trusova. She resumed her career after giving birth and a long break. Despite that, Trusova is showing promising results — videos circulate online showing her effortlessly landing quadruple jumps. At the previous Olympics, Trusova performed with five clean quadruple jumps in the free program (though she finished only second).

According to the Telegram channel «Tulup Tutberidze,» Adeliia left the coach «by phone» — without a personal farewell.

Last Interview

On 18 July, two days before the big news, Adeliia Petrosian gave a joint interview with coach Daniil Gleikhengauz. As part of a lecture at VK Fest, they discussed sport and talent.

Petrosian admitted then that she gets more enjoyment not from serious competitions but from exhibition performances — because there «you skate with a more peaceful soul.» She also added that she usually does not befriend other athletes.

«When you step onto the ice and try to accomplish your task... Then athletes don»t think about friendship. Afterwards, of course, we can go somewhere together. But friendship — for me personally, it«s usually outside of sport,» Adeliia said candidly.

During the interview, Gleikhengauz shared secrets of preparing figure skating programs. He works on Eteri Tutberidze«s team and worked with Adeliia.

Petrosian has not yet chosen a new coach. This information was obtained by the Telegram channel «Obsudim? | Figure Skating.» Also, according to them, she said goodbye to Tutberidze«s coaching staff only on 19 July — just one day before announcing her departure.

At the Milan Olympics, Adeliia Petrosian scored 214.53 points over two programs. This was her second international competition. Her first took place at the qualifying tournament in Beijing, where she secured a quota for the Games. At the Games, she competed in a neutral status.