At 18, Kate Fuller’s list of accomplishments is already pretty impressive — but she’s nowhere near finished.

The Forsyth County teenager has parlayed her status as one of the world’s notable rising junior players into a spot on the University of Georgia’s nationally-ranked tennis team, where she’ll be playing this fall.

“We’re excited that Kate has decided to become a Georgia Bulldog,” UGA coach Jeff Wallace was quoted as saying in the signing release.

“She is one of the top recruits in the state and in the nation, and we look forward to her joining us ... in Athens as she continues her career at the collegiate level.”

UGA’s women are ranked 14th nationally in the latest CollegeTennisOnline.com poll.

Naturally, all of that competing would get in the way of a normal teenage life.

That’s why Fuller, who lives in Suwanee on the Forsyth County side of the line, takes courses online and does independent study projects though the Keystone National High School home school curriculum.

Fuller said the studies can be demanding, with so much responsibility placed on the individual student, but it frees her up to travel for tennis without worrying about being absent from class. She’s taken advantage of that freedom,
traveling to places like Guadalajara and Mexico City, and even as far south as Costa Rica, for tournaments.

Fuller said she’s been playing tennis since age 7, after moving to the Atlanta area with her family from Ohio.

Although gymnastics had been her sport of choice up to that point, she quickly picked up a racket.

“When we moved to Atlanta, tennis was so popular in every neighborhood court. [My older sisters] were better than me, so I wanted to be like them,” she said.

“From the beginning I knew that tennis was a long journey. I wanted to make it to college and play big time college tennis.”

Fuller points to her backhand and serve as her most potent weapons on the court. Off the court, she’s a fan of the world’s top professional players, specifically Kim Clijsters, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“I enjoy watching a lot of sports and just having fun. I used to play a little bit of basketball when I was young, but I’m not very good anymore,” she said with a laugh.

Fuller is also an avid reader, and recently finished Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open.

She’ll be involved in USTA Pro Circuit events later this month, and hopes to have her high school studies completed in a few weeks.

She plans to study business in college, with a focus on sports management.