After her World title in 1982, Zayak's placements suffered from generally poor performances in the then-prevalent compulsory figures (attributed after the fact to her damaged foot). She took the bronze medal at the 1983 U.S. Championships and was sent to the 1983 World Championships. Ranked 11th in the middle of the school figures portion, Zayak abruptly withdrew from the competition with just one more tracing to go and flew back to the United States. She attributed her poor figures to a sore, injured ankle and equipment problems.