Former world-class tennis player Wendy Overton now lives in Gulf Stream
and sells real estate out of Delray Beach.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
The popularity of tennis in the ’70s and ’80s was such that many of its stars were recognized by their first names: Chrissie, Martina and Billie Jean were among those whose surnames seemed an afterthought.
Not far behind was a Wendy — to be precise, Wendy Overton, who rose to as high as No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 10 in the world, and since has climbed high in the ranks of the south Palm Beach County real estate market.
A top seller with Corcoran Realty of Delray Beach, Overton is not far from amassing 30 years while ringing up hundreds of sales — a good number of which involve properties east of the Intracoastal.
“I have to admit I’m a bit of a workaholic,” she said, “but that’s in my makeup.”
Overton is among a select group of former players to whom every tennis professional in the world today owes a debt of gratitude. There was no women’s tennis tour when she graduated cum laude from Rollins College in Winter Park in 1969. She was one of a handful of top players — a group that included Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals — who planted the seeds for the Women’s Tennis Association at a meeting at a hotel in London just before the Wimbledon tournament was held in 1973.
“All the women who were entered (in Wimbledon) were there,” recalled Overton, 69. “We met in an auditorium, and Billie Jean was up on the stage, and she said to Betty Stove, from the Netherlands, ‘Lock the door. Anybody who wants to leave can leave, but nobody else is coming in.’
“That’s when we founded the Tour.”
After spending nine years as a touring pro, Overton spent 10 as director of tennis at Hunters Run in Boynton Beach, where the tennis program had five members when she joined and about 6,000 when she left.
When Hunters Run built a stadium court, members chose to name it after her.
She also has accomplished much since leaving tennis for business, becoming a founder and director of Women’s Sports Legends, a sports marketing enterprise, and becoming a member-elect of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
She currently sits on the committee of the Bethesda Pro-Am Golf Tournament and has given time to the Caring Kitchen, the Delray Beach Historical Society and the Achievement Center for Children and Families.
— Brian Biggane
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in Ormond Beach and started playing tennis at age 7. My first tournament was a state event in Jacksonville, and I went on to win the state championships in the 14-, 15-, 16-, 17- and 18-and-under age groups. Winning state championships qualified me for nationals, and I reached the semifinals in singles in nationals and won the doubles on grass courts in Philadelphia.
All those experiences helped my maturity process a great deal, but I went to Rollins on an academic scholarship, not an athletic scholarship, because Title IX hadn’t been passed yet and there was no such thing as athletic scholarships for women.
Our team at Rollins was very good; I played No. 1 singles throughout my four years there and we did well on the national level. I was getting to know people from around the country in tennis and forged relationships that I still have today.
Q: Tell us about your tennis career and how it helped shape the person you have become.
A: Two years after I came out of Rollins about 12 to 15 of us — led by Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Virginia Wade from England, Francoise Durr of France — decided to start the Women’s Tennis Association. The USTA, which actually was the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association at the time, told us not to do it, but we still did it.
We had a board of directors and I was on the first one. I had a very bad temperament on court, so they made me chairwoman of the disciplinary committee. But going through that whole experience taught me a lot about standing up for what you believe in and remaining on course to get things done.
My nine years as a touring player gave me great experiences. One of my biggest victories was beating Billie Jean at the Virginia Slims of Jacksonville in the semifinals. I don’t even recall who I played in the finals.
Q: Any special memories from Wimbledon or the U.S. Open?
A: Some of my best Wimbledon memories were made representing the U.S. in the Wightman Cup matches there against England.
The U.S. Open is a much bigger event for me. We would stay in New York and ride out in limos. I made it to the final eight one year, which gives me tickets for life for the final eight, food included. I won the U.S. Open Seniors doubles championship with Rosie Casals in 1987 and in 1997 with Anne Smith from Texas.
Q: How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A: I always wanted to live there, so when I was teaching at Hunters Run, I had a house in the Hamlet in Delray Beach, and if it would rain I would get in my car and drive through Gulf Stream. There was one little area close to Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis that I really liked; it was called Driftwood Landing, right behind the B & T. There were only about 12 houses back there. So I would always go to that same area, and one time I was driving and noticed a “for sale” sign. There was a guy there washing his dog, and he was the guy who cut my hair.
I said, “Art, is this your house?” He said, “Yeah, don’t you remember, we bought this place.” I said, “Well, you just finished it.” And he said, “Well, we’re pregnant, and we don’t want to have a baby living so close to the water.” So I asked to come in and look at it and bought it a month later, and I’ve been there 36 years.
I’ve done a lot of work on it over the years. I lost my roof in (Hurricane) Wilma, but put on a third bedroom and third bath, and had to put in a new septic system. I have a home generator.
Everything has been updated. The kitchen has been redone three times; the bathrooms have been redone. It’s just a great house: pool, dock, 100 feet on the Intracoastal. There are only 12 or 14 homes back there. It’s only nine blocks to Atlantic Avenue, so I walk that every day.
Q: What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A: It’s a tiny town, a township. We have our own Gulf Stream hall, where we vote, our own police station. It’s just small, which is good. Private. Very private.
I had a meeting at my house of tennis legends back in the early ’80s and everybody showed up: Billie Jean, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver, maybe 17 or 18 of us.
My driveway was full and Martina was driving a Porsche and she pulled it up on my neighbor’s yard. So he called the police, but then he came over, knocked on the door and said, “OK, whose Porsche is this?”
I said, “I think it’s Martina Navratilova’s.” He said, “Who?” So he’s looking in the living room and there’s Martina, Tracy Austin, all these great players, and he couldn’t believe it. Those were good times.
Q: Who has been your mentor?
A: My father, without question. He introduced me to the game and, even though he and my mom split up when I was young, he used to come to all my events. And every time he came I lost. So I said, “Dad, don’t show up, OK?”
So I was playing in the 18-and-under grass court championships in Philadelphia, in the semifinals, and I looked over and behind a tree, way over there, was my father. I saw him. So I lost, and I knew he had a two-hour drive home, so I waited and called him then. I said, “Hey, Dad, where were you today? Because I saw you behind that tree.” But I got over that and started winning when he came. I looked up to him.
As far as in the game, Doris Hart, who used to be director of tennis at a club down around Lighthouse Point, helped me a lot. I knew her for years and we became good friends.
Q: What influence has your success in tennis had in your real estate career?
A: I’d say almost all of my clients know what I accomplished in tennis. It gave me wonderful connections and friends I still have to this day. Jeanne Evert Dubin has been my best friend going back 48 years, and I’ve sold 11 houses to the Evert family.
A few years back I got the listing for Greg Norman’s house in Jupiter, largely through Chris Evert at the time they were together. But it was overpriced and didn’t sell.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Killing Lincoln, by Bill O’Reilly. I majored in history and public affairs in college and have always had a love for history. I feel like Lincoln was a great president, and his term came at a hard time.
Q: Is there a quote that inspires you?
A: “Go for it,” by Billie Jean King. When she played Bobby Riggs in Houston (in 1973), she was also in a tournament prior to that match. So we said, “Billie Jean, you’ve got a lot riding on this match. Don’t blow it by playing in a tournament. You’re going to get tired.” She said, “Don’t worry. Go for it!” She was great and she killed him.
Q: Who would play you in a movie?
A: Candice Bergen. She’s about my age and I always liked her in that sitcom Murphy Brown. She has a great sense of humor.
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