In October at the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin, China, Atler was out of competitive shape and unprepared for the competition, but she still did well enough to qualify to the All-Around Final in 7th place, the top U.S. qualifier. She also qualified for the Floor Final and was to replace Kristen Maloney (who pulled out of the final due to an injury) in the Beam Final. In the Team Final, she had some uncharacteristic errors and scored an 8.025 on beam after counting two falls. Struggling with her ankle injury that was progressively getting worse, she placed 31st in the all-around after ending her floor routine with a basic layout tumbling pass. She then withdrew from both of her event finals.