She might have chosen an American university to develop her game, but rising tennis star Emily Arbuthnott says she’s thrilled to be representing Great Britain at the BUCS World University Games in Chinese Taipei later this summer.

The 19-year-old has just completed her first year at the University of Stanford in California, where she is yet to decide on what major to study, although she has her sights set on pursuing Economics.

But Harpenden-born Arbuthnott has already made her mind up over becoming a professional tennis player and is currently gravitating towards the elite set up having come through the junior ranks.

And now the former Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls pupil is about to take a massive step forward in her playing career when she debuts at the BUCS World University Games in August.

Held biennially in major cities across the globe, the World University Games (WUGS) sees athletes come together to compete across numerous sports with the Summer Universiade the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics.

And Arbuthnott says she cannot wait to fly the national flag for her country – something she’s already put on her CV.  

“I’m really excited. I love team events – I’ve represented Great Britain at tennis in a few junior competitions and I love representing my country,” she said.  

“As soon as I heard the news, I was really keen to be a part of it and so happy that I was chosen. “These sorts of things don’t happen very often – especially in tennis – to be part of a bigger team isn’t available that often.

“It would be amazing to make the podium. It’s obviously going to be a very tough competition – last time they medalled in a couple of the tennis events.”

Having played in all four junior grand slams, Arbuthnott now finds herself transitioning towards the pro circuit, but admits she won’t make her full debut until after she has completed her degree.

“It’s not really possible to play a full year while I’m at university as I’m there for nine months of the year, so I’d only have 3 months playing time,” she said.  

“I really wanted to make sure I got a degree, but at the same time wanted a tennis career.

“For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been playing in pro tournaments and I’ll be doing that for most of the summer. But whenever I’m finished, I’m hoping to get onto the pro circuit.”

Arbuthnott’s tennis adventure began as a 7-year-old at Harpenden Lawn Tennis Club, and reveals she still graces the club’s grass courts whenever she’s back home – especially during Wimbledon. But growing up, she developed a love for team sports and played lacrosse to a high level, although tennis remained he main focus.

“I always just loved doing sports at school. I really liked the team element of lacrosse – and I still do in tennis when I enter team competitions.

“I kind of always knew that I would pick tennis over lacrosse because lacrosse has a lower profile and it’s not something I could have done solely as a profession – there was always more of a future career path with tennis.

“I do miss it a little bit and I’ve met some people on the lacrosse university team and we’ve thrown a ball around a bit.”

At the last Games held in Gwangju, South Korea, Team GBR recorded its biggest medal haul in ten years, with 12 per cent of athletes medalling – a total of 11 podium finishes split between three gold, four silver and four bronze.

Team GBR is preparing to send its largest delegation to the Games since 2011, with over 110 athletes set to compete across 13 sports.

And with the likes of Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill and London 2012 bronze-medal winning gymnast Beth Tweddle among those to have competed at the World University Games, Arbuthnott insists it is one of the best events sport has to offer.

“I’m excited to meet athletes in other sports too, it’s going to be really fun.

“The competition is definitely going to be very different. It’s a very different system in the UK with all the BUCS leagues that UK universities take part in.

“But I think it’s going to be really interesting to hear about other people’s experiences and learn how they’ve been developing their sport alongside their studies.”

“I’ve been speaking to some other girls on the team about some doubles and discuss some tactics for it – I’ve never played with either of them in doubles so that’ll be a new experience.”

British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports. Over 110 athletes will represent the GB team at the 29th FISU Summer World University Games 2017 from 19-30 August.