#0172 livia kraus

Livia Kraus – Overview

Livia Kraus (born 11 November 1998 in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian tennis player who grew up in Nieder-Olm near Mainz, Germany. Her career is unusual in combining Austrian nationality, German junior development, NCAA Division I tennis in the United States and later high-level European club competition. Kraus reached a WTA singles career high of No. 1157 in July 2017, but that ranking greatly understates her later competitive level because she spent her prime development years playing college tennis for Baylor University rather than pursuing WTA points. At Baylor she became an All-Big 12 singles player, reached No. 39 in the ITA national college rankings and accumulated more than 60 college singles victories. She remains an active league player in Germany and Austria in 2026.

Background

Kraus was born in Vienna but grew up in Nieder-Olm in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She attended Gymnasium Nieder-Olm. Her parents are Gerhard and Claudia Kraus, and she has two sisters, Sarah and Sinja.

Although her tennis development took place largely in Germany, Kraus represents Austria internationally. This explains why German junior and club records frequently describe her in a German tennis context while the ITF and WTA list her under the Austrian flag.

Playing Profile

Kraus is approximately 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) tall and plays right-handed. Her later college record indicates a game based primarily on consistency, movement and efficient point construction rather than overwhelming physical power.

Baylor coach Joey Scrivano highlighted her maturity, character and efficiency when recruiting her. Those qualities became evident in college, where Kraus was capable of competing successfully anywhere from the lower positions to No. 1 singles.

German Junior Development

Kraus became one of the stronger junior players in Rhineland-Palatinate. She was a three-time regional champion and reached approximately No. 42 in the German women's rankings during her youth.

She also won several significant junior tournaments, including the HEAD Cup in Bruchköbel, the Augo Lang Bodensee Junior Open and an international Tennis Europe event. She finished runner-up in the national Jugend trainiert für Olympia school competition.

International Junior Career

Kraus competed selectively on the ITF junior circuit rather than maintaining an especially heavy international schedule. Despite the limited number of tournaments, she reached a career-high ITF junior ranking around No. 525.

Her results included two international ITF U18 singles titles, demonstrating a considerably higher playing level than her later WTA ranking might suggest.

First International Junior Title – 2013

Kraus won her first ITF junior singles title in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, in September 2013. She was only 14 at the time.

The achievement established her as a promising Austrian junior even though she continued to play much of her competitive tennis within the German system.

HEAD Cup Bruchköbel – 2015

Kraus won her second international U18 singles title at the ITF Grade 4 HEAD Cup in Bruchköbel in July 2015. The 16-year-old defeated Luxembourg's Eleonora Molinaro 6–2, 6–3 in the clay-court final.

At the time Kraus had played only a handful of internationally ranked junior tournaments. The victory nevertheless moved her approximately 240 places upward in the ITF junior ranking, illustrating how productive her limited international schedule had been.

Early Professional Competition

Kraus made occasional appearances in professional ITF events during her late junior years. Her professional results were concentrated mainly in 2016 and 2017, when she compiled a positive overall record but competed primarily at the entry level of the ITF circuit.

She reached a WTA singles career high of No. 1157 on 17 July 2017. Her year-end rankings were No. 1187 in 2016 and No. 1169 in 2017. She did not win an ITF professional title and did not establish a doubles ranking.

WTA and ITF Record

The ITF records Kraus with a 26–20 win-loss record in women's professional competition. Her WTA ranking history is limited because she stopped pursuing a conventional professional schedule when she moved into American college tennis.

Consequently, the career-high ranking of No. 1157 should not be treated as a measurement of her peak tennis ability. Her subsequent NCAA results against nationally ranked Division I players indicate that she improved considerably after her WTA ranking became inactive.

Move to Baylor University

In June 2017 Baylor University announced that Kraus would join its women's tennis programme beginning in the autumn. Baylor, located in Waco, Texas, competes in NCAA Division I and the Big 12 Conference.

Kraus studied exercise physiology and developed into one of Baylor's most dependable players. The college route allowed her to continue intensive tennis while obtaining a university education rather than travelling full-time on the ITF circuit.

Freshman Season – 2017/18

Kraus made an immediate impact at Baylor. She compiled an excellent 25–6 overall singles record, including an 18–4 record in dual matches. She went 7–3 at No. 5 singles and 9–1 at No. 6.

She finished the season on a nine-match winning streak and went 4–2 in Big 12 singles. In doubles she recorded nine victories.

Her performances earned both Big 12 All-Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Rookie Team honours.

NCAA Tournament – 2018

Kraus contributed to Baylor's NCAA Championship campaign in her freshman season. Against No. 36 NC State she defeated Bianca Moldovan 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, helping Baylor advance to the second round.

She also defeated Tatiana Nikolaeva of No. 18 Kansas 6–1, 6–1 during the Big 12 Championship, helping Baylor reach the conference semifinals.

Breakthrough Sophomore Season – 2018/19

Kraus moved dramatically upward in Baylor's lineup during her second season. After playing mainly at Nos. 5 and 6 as a freshman, she competed primarily at No. 1 singles as a sophomore.

She compiled a 21–11 overall singles record, including 15–10 in dual matches and 4–4 against Big 12 opponents. Her success at the top of the lineup earned Second Team All-Big 12 singles honours.

National College Ranking

Kraus finished the 2018/19 season ranked No. 61 nationally in the ITA Division I singles rankings. She was also selected as an alternate for the NCAA Division I Women's Singles Championship.

Her ranking later rose as high as No. 39 in the ITA national singles rankings during the autumn of 2019, the strongest individual ranking of her college career.

Jack Kramer Club Invitational

One of Kraus's best college tournament performances came at the Jack Kramer Club Invitational in November 2018. She went undefeated at 5–0 and won her first individual tournament championship as a Baylor player.

The run helped establish the momentum that carried her into the national rankings and All-Big 12 recognition.

Victory over No. 33 Petra Melounova

At the 2019 ITA All-American Championships Kraus recorded one of the most notable victories of her college career by defeating Hawaii's Petra Melounova, then ranked No. 33 nationally, in three sets.

The victory demonstrated that Kraus was capable of competing with players near the top of NCAA Division I tennis despite never having possessed a high WTA ranking.

2019/20 Season

Kraus experienced a shoulder problem at the beginning of the spring 2020 season but recovered strongly. She compiled a 5–1 spring singles record, including 4–0 at No. 3 singles and 2–0 in Big 12 competition.

She recorded her 50th Baylor singles victory against Iowa State in March 2020. The remainder of the season was then cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Final Baylor Period

During the autumn of 2020 Kraus led Baylor with nine singles victories against only three defeats. She matched that record in doubles, also going 9–3.

She recorded her 60th career Baylor singles victory against Kansas player Carmen Roxana Manu and produced a six-match winning streak during the autumn.

Baylor Career Statistics

Through the autumn of 2020 Kraus had compiled a 61–25 singles record for Baylor. Her dual-match record was 38–18, while she went 23–10 in individual tournament competition.

In doubles she recorded a 31–24 overall mark. Her ability to succeed at multiple positions was particularly notable: over her college career she played everywhere from No. 1 to No. 6 singles.

Academic Achievements

Kraus was also a strong student. She earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team recognition and ITA All-Academic Scholar honours in both 2019 and 2020.

She achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during her sophomore academic year and was selected multiple times for the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Baylor Dean's List. Her major was exercise physiology.

Professional Career in Context

Kraus never pursued a sustained WTA career after college and has no WTA or ITF professional singles title, Grand Slam appearance or regular WTA Tour main-draw record.

This makes her a good example of a player whose official WTA statistics are misleading if viewed without context. Her No. 1157 career high was achieved before four years of intensive NCAA development. By 2019 she was the No. 61-ranked college singles player in the United States and later reached No. 39, competing successfully against opponents with substantially stronger professional résumés.

Return to European Club Tennis

After her American college period Kraus returned to European competition. Rather than rebuilding a WTA ranking, she has concentrated primarily on German and Austrian club and league tennis.

Recorded results show her competing regularly on clay from 2022 onward, with especially active seasons in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

2024–25 Competition

Kraus remained highly successful in European league competition. Her recorded 2024 singles results were approximately 8–1, all on clay, followed by another positive season of approximately 7–3 in 2025.

These matches were primarily club and Bundesliga competition rather than ranking events, explaining why she remained absent from the WTA rankings despite continuing to compete regularly.

2026 Season

Kraus remains an active competitive player in 2026. Through late June she had recorded seven victories and five defeats in documented German and Austrian league matches, all on clay.

Among her 2026 victories were straight-set wins over Pauline Praefke, Mia Peric, Elena Lederer, Tessa Erler and Chiara Bill. She also defeated Magdalena Steiner in a match decided by a championship tiebreak.

Her current activity confirms that she has not stopped playing competitive tennis; rather, her career has shifted away from WTA-ranking tournaments toward high-level European team competition.

Career Statistics

Full name: Livia Kraus
Born: 11 November 1998, Vienna, Austria
Nationality: Austrian
Hometown during junior years: Nieder-Olm, Germany
Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Plays: Right-handed
High school: Gymnasium Nieder-Olm
University: Baylor University, Texas
Major: Exercise Physiology
Career-high WTA singles ranking: No. 1157 (17 July 2017)
ITF professional record: 26–20
ITF/WTA professional titles: 0
Career-high ITF junior ranking: approximately No. 525
International junior singles titles: 2
Highest ITA college singles ranking: No. 39
2019 year-end ITA singles ranking: No. 61
All-Big 12 singles: Second Team, 2019
Big 12 All-Freshman Team: 2018
Baylor singles record through fall 2020: 61–25
Baylor doubles record through fall 2020: 31–24
Current status: Active in European league tennis

Career Assessment

Livia Kraus's tennis career cannot be judged meaningfully from her WTA ranking alone. Her professional ranking peaked at only No. 1157 in 2017, but she was still a teenager when she left the conventional ITF pathway for Baylor University. Her subsequent development carried her into the upper levels of NCAA Division I tennis.

At Baylor she progressed from a highly successful No. 5/6 freshman to the No. 1 singles position, earned All-Big 12 honours, reached No. 39 nationally and accumulated more than 60 singles victories. She simultaneously distinguished herself academically with a 4.0 GPA, Academic All-Big 12 selections and ITA academic honours.

After college Kraus chose not to build a full-time WTA career, instead returning to European club tennis. Her continued German and Austrian league activity through 2026, including consistently positive clay-court records, shows that at age 27 she remains an active and accomplished competitive player whose most significant achievements belong to junior, NCAA and team tennis rather than the professional tour.

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