Schenk played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics, losing in women's singles to Tracey Hallam of Great Britain in the round of 32.

Schenk nearly reached a bronze medal in the World Championship in Hyderabad in women's singles but lost to French Pi Hongyan in the final set, 19:21.

Schenk became an independent professional player in June, having severed ties with the German Badminton Association (DBV).

Despite being left in the lurch, Schenk showed great determination to reach the Indonesian Open final in June.

In early 2014 in the China Badminton Super League, Schenk was beaten by Wang Shixian representing Jiangsu, 11–5, 11–5.

Schenk had announced on her website earlier in the year that she was intent on getting out of the top ten so that she could avoid paying fines for missing Superseries Premier events.

She told the Rheinische Post that she would be working as a personal trainer, that she was studying at the University of Cologne, and that she was writing a book.