After nearly 40 years, Don de Wilde is leaving as tennis director and resident professional at the Buccaneer Hotel on St. Croix.
A graduate of the College of William and Mary with a BA in psychology, de Wilde attended on a tennis scholarship and captained the college’s varsity tennis team. Upon graduation, he became the head professional at the prestigious Williamsburg Inn in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Before coming to the Buccaneer, he spent five years as the head pro at the largest Holiday Inn in the world in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. He was also a guest pro at the Howard Hughes owned Xanadu Hotel in the Bahamas.
He is a member of and national tester for the United States Professional Tennis Registry. He is a licensed cardio tennis professional, was a board member of the Virgin Islands Tennis Association for 30 years, graduated from Van der Meer Tennis University and attended numerous International Tennis Federation Coaches Conferences around the world as well as the annual USTA National Tennis Teachers Conferences in New York. He served as the coach for the Virgin Islands National Team in the Pan Am Games held in Puerto Rico and for the Virgin Islands National Junior Team in the Cup of Nations in Costa Rica.
As a charity-tournament director, de Wilde helped to raise over a million dollars for Good Hope School, the Women’s Coalition and the Court Appointed Special Advocates organization for children (CASA).
For eight years as president of the St. Croix Tennis Foundation Inc., Don ran the free-for-youth Vitelco Junior Tennis Program on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Elizabeth Armstrong and the staff of The Buccaneer Hotel for making my tenure as their resident tennis professional one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences of my life. For all their friendship and support over the years, I also wish to thank all the tennis players in the Virgin Islands as well as the tourists who have come back so often to play at the hotel. My love of tennis will keep me involved in the sport for years to come.”
Peter Burwash International (PBI), a tennis management company, will be directing the tennis program as of Nov. 1.
