Sinja Kraus comes to Linz as Austria's number one

Just before Christmas, Sinja Kraus took some time to talk to us about her injury worries over the past year, her goals for 2025 and the appeal of the Linz women's tennis classic.
 
Hello Sinja! Last year you celebrated your debut in Linz and played in the main draw against Clara Burel from France. How do you look back on this experience?
 
"I can still remember exactly how nervous I was before my match. In the first set, I just hoped that I would somehow manage to win another game. Once I managed that, things went much better in the second set. The support from the fans was just great, it was an amazing experience. I recently played a practice set against Clara and it was totally even. It was nice to see that I'm not that far away in terms of performance."
 
You suffered a wrist injury last summer. What exactly happened to you and how satisfied are you with your development since then?
 
"I really had pain in my wrist overnight and could no longer turn my wrist. It didn't just affect me on the pitch, but I couldn't even hold a pan in everyday life, for example. I put up with it for a while, but it didn't get any better. In the end, a specialist advised me to have an operation and I'm really glad that I did it after Roland Garros. I then had to take a break for almost three months, but then I got back into really good shape and won three more tournaments in the summer. I was able to fight my way back into the top 200. I didn't expect that and that's why I can be really satisfied with the year." 
 
One highlight was certainly your performance at the Billie Jean King Cup for Austria.... 
 
"The defeat against Ukraine still really hurts, because I really love playing in the Billie Jean King Cup. These weeks are always a lot of fun for me. I love playing in a team, I can always get a lot out of myself and usually play really good tennis. It's something else to play for your country. In the end, we also lost against really strong players."
 
What are your plans for the new year?

"With an injury like that, you certainly lower your expectations. But I really want to get back up to 150th in the world rankings. My best ranking so far was 151 and I'm also working towards being in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. That might be realistic at the end of the year. I just want to compete with the best players on the big stage more often and gain experience at this level. I'm currently doing my pre-season training in Ludwigshafen. On 25 December, I will then fly to Australia to take part in the Australian Open qualifiers."
 
Maybe that will work out in Linz!

"That would be great, of course! In Linz, you also have the people around you. They make the tournament what it is. Many people come especially to watch me. I'll certainly take it a bit easier, not put myself under any pressure and I'm very grateful to be back."
 
How important do you think the tournament is for women's tennis in Austria?
 
"Overall, we still have some catching up to do in Austria in terms of the tournament landscape and the players. That's why the Upper Austria Ladies Linz is so important. The tournament gives us young players the opportunity to get a taste of professional life, learn something new and gain motivation. For example, I was honoured as the best young player in Linz in 2019 and was so impressed that I thought to myself: 'I want to be up there one day'. Of course, it's a great feeling that I've now achieved that." 

Thank you very much for your time, Sinja. We are already looking forward to seeing you at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.