Jaelyn Liu sees Fencing World Championships preliminaries as 'good test' after difficult season

United States teenage star Jaelyn Liu said the preliminary rounds at the Kerry Fencing World Championships on Friday were a “good test” for her after a difficult season.

The winner of the World Cup in Hong Kong in January 2025 and third-place finisher at the Pan American Championships five months later, Liu’s best senior result this season in eight competitions was 12th at the Turin Grand Prix in February.

Ranked No 43 in the world, Liu scraped through the pool stage with three wins in five bouts before beating Amita Berthier of Singapore 15-13.

“I didn’t have as good of a season as I did last year, which is why I can’t start in the main tableau,” the 17-year-old said. “But it’s actually very rewarding to know that I can work my way up every time, and that I deserve my spot in the main tableau every single time.

“I definitely think the preliminaries are a good placement at least, a good test for me. And I usually, after a very hard day, the first day, it seems to me that I get more adjusted to the competition, so I’m a little bit more ready for the second day at least.”

The dip in results for Liu, who will face world No 14 Sumire Tsuji on Monday at AsiaWorld-Expo, did not concern her coach Ralf Bissdorf.