Wow, that's a surprise.

Sure, he was one of the older pairs skaters at 31, but I wasn't expecting him to split with Alisa after getting her released and waiting a full season to compete with her. Sad to hear that lack of federation support is once again a common theme and a significant factor in his retirement. (Hovke/Kunkel already talked about having to fund their training in Italy themselves, and thus having had issues with getting his back treated before Worlds)
How unfortunate for Alisa that she's now once again left without a partner, is there any good male pairs skater searching? She's just 23 and still has some years left in her career. Though I wouldn't fault her for giving up and retiring either, it must be a very frustrating situation for her too.