Zagitova suspended her season following the Grand Prix Final, stating that she no longer had motivation to compete. She withdrew from the 2020 Russian Championships and thus, did not contend for berths on the 2020 European Championships. She did not intend to compete in the 2020 World Championships either prior to its cancellation. However, she remained the reigning world champion as a result of the cancellation of the 2020 World Championships until the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships. As of October 2020, Zagitova extended her break from competitive figure skating until 2021 at earliest. On 14 May 2021 the Russian press reported the announcement that Zagitova would not be representing Russia on the national team during the 2021-2022 season stating: "Olympic champion Alina Zagitova and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva have not been included in the Russian Figure Skating Federation's (RFSF) national team for the 2021-2022, putting their hopes of competing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at risk."