Joanna Mather is not your typical high school student.

Although she does her homework, plays sports and attended a few homecoming dances, she hasn't seen a school classroom in five years.

She takes all of the classes you expect she would —- and even dislikes her history class like many students —- but she does it at home.

A true tennis prodigy, Mather opted to be home schooled starting in the eighth grade so she could focus on her tennis career. With a tournament schedule like hers, the normal class-lunch-recess school schedule was not going to work.

"When she has time, she'll sit down and do a full day of work," said her mother, Laura Mather. "Because when she would travel, she might be gone for two months."

That's right —- Mather is a world traveler. In fact, she needs to add more pages to her passport because they're all stamped up.

After conquering tournaments across the United States —- she won the Georgia State Qualifying Championships at ages 12, 14 and 15 —- she took her game global in 2005 by joining the International Tennis Federation and playing in tournaments around the world.

She has been to Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Brazil and Argentina. She played in professional tournaments in Bulgaria and Croatia, where she saw moderate success, sometimes qualifying for the main draw. She has also traveled throughout the Caribbean, playing in Jamaica and other islands.

"I've been to so many amazing places," Mather said. "I haven't seen much besides the tennis courts and the hotel. But it was still fun."

Her best ranking came during her junior year, when she was No. 131 in the world for girls under 18.

But it wasn't all fun and games. Like many athletes who work hard, Mather has had to deal with her share of injuries, including a wrist injury and a stress fracture in her ankle that kept her on the couch for six weeks.

"Going from practicing all the time and then I just had nothing to do," Mather said. "I had already finished all my classes, so I just had to sit and do nothing."

It's difficult for Mather to get much work done when she's not at home. Her schooling is done mostly online with Keystone National High School, and many locations don't have the Internet in the hotel rooms.

So she usually catches up when she gets back home. But when she's state-side, there's nothing normal about her schedule.

Her 9 a.m. workouts consist of a combination of weight lifting and cardiovascular training. Then it's off to the tennis courts for an hour practice with her coaches, Attila Azucki and Pablo Gonzalez-King. After a lunch break, she plays another two hours in the afternoon. She does her homework at night.

"I wish I could have experienced high school just to experience high school," Mather said. "But also it's been great because I've gotten to see so many places in the world that no one my age has gotten to see."

But all that will change next year.

After seriously considering turning professional, Mather decided she wanted to go to college. So she will play on full scholarship at the University of Florida. She signed in November, and unlike many other high school seniors, she can't wait to get into a classroom.

"I'm so excited to actually have a team for tennis," Mather said. "For so long it's just been me. Also going to school and having teachers and being in a social atmosphere —- I can't wait."

During her senior year, Mather cut back on her travel schedule and took more time to prepare for college. Now that she's a Gator, the plan is another summer traveling the globe before she's off to Gainesville in August.

"We just wanted to give her an opportunity, and we were blessed enough to be able to send her to these things," Laura Mather said. "We're just real proud of her."