With a racquet in her hand since she was 3 years old, one could say Marie Krüger was meant to play tennis.

“I basically grew up around tennis,” Krüger said. “My whole family plays tennis; my grandma still plays tennis, my uncle my aunt, my sister, my mom and my dad. We actually have some videos of me and my sister playing with tennis racquets and balloons in the living room.”

Krüger’s father is a professional tennis player and coach and owns a tennis school in Leverkusen, Germany. She primarily worked with him during her tennis training.

“I think we had some different stages, but I guess when I was little I sometimes would get mad when he would tell me something,” Krüger said. “Now, it is more like I know that he’s right. When he sees something, I know he will tell me what I have to do better.”

Krüger began playing tennis through her dad’s tennis school in a club. When she was 10 years old, she took part in an international tournament which she won. Krüger had the opportunity to travel to Austria and compete with professional tennis players because she won this competition.

Krüger continued playing tennis throughout her childhood and hoped to travel to the U.S. to continue her tennis career and education.

“It was always my dream to play tennis in the United States,” Krüger said. “That was basically the reason to play tennis here, but there’s good education here too.”

Krüger said a big transition from playing tennis in Germany and playing in the U.S. was how loud spectators can be on the sides of the sidelines.

In Germany, spectators have to be quiet while watching a match, but in the U.S. people cheer and talk to players on the court, Krüger said.

“Here, it’s super common that everyone cheers on the side of the courts,” Krüger said. “I think this will make me stronger when I go back to Germany. I don’t hear anything anymore. My sister always sits on my bench when we play, and she will be like ‘do you hear the others talking?’ and I don’t hear them.”

Since coming to the U.S., Krüger has seen success on and off the courts. She received the Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the year award in 2016, she is ranked nationally at 36 for singles and she is ranked 13th for doubles with her partner Elisa Lang. Krüger currently plays No. 1 singles and doubles.

Krüger is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honors societies.

Krüger said the biggest transition from Germany to the U.S. was learning English dialects.

“I was struggling with my English my first semester,” Krüger said. “I had a business class with a teacher who has a southern accent, and sometimes, I really didn’t understand it.”

Krüger studies human resource management in the FMU School of Business. She said she hopes to use her international travel experience to work in international business.

“I love getting to know different cultures,” Krüger said. “There are so many different kinds of people in the world, and if I have the opportunity to get in touch with different beliefs and cultures, then this would be my dream for the future.”

Krüger graduates in May and is currently preparing graduate school applications.

Krüger also said she thinks she will continue playing tennis after college.

“I will always be on a team, I guess,” Krüger said.