Along with her sisters Toni and Anna, she played field hockey at the SC Frankfurt 1880 as well as tennis at the TC Palmengarten.

In the years before World War I, Ilse and her sister Toni were among the best German female tennis players.

Still at the 1927 French Championships, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Dutch Kea Bouman, the eventual champion, in three sets.

After the Nazi Party had seized power in Germany in January, German tennis clubs began to expel Jewish members.

In April, the German tennis association announced that Jewish players would no longer be allowed to play for Germany in international tournaments.