Tennis Great Ivan Lendl Sells His 445-Acre Connecticut Estate for $12 Million

Tennis Great Ivan Lendl’s 445-acre Connecticut estate has sold for $12 million, breaking price records in Litchfield County, Mansion Global has learned.

“The house has been off and on the market for about eight years,” said listing agent Elyse Harney Morris, who had the sale with fellow Elyse Harney Real Estate agent Bill Melnick. The deal closed on Thursday, surpassing the previous record, which was just shy of $11.5 million, according to Morris. 

The Cornwall, Connecticut, home was originally listed for $25 million in 2005, and has gone through a series of price cuts since, according to published reports. It was most recently asking $14.995 million.

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In the heart of the Litchfield Hills, the Georgian Federal-style mansion offers 18,000 square feet of interior space, with 10 bedrooms, 12 full bathrooms and three partial bedrooms. The four-level, 20-room house was designed by architect Allan Greenberg for Lendl and his wife, Samantha, in 1992.

Indoor amenities include a pool that adjoins two locker rooms, a sauna, a workout room and a full-sized gym, according to the listing. Outdoors, the estate features a three-bedroom caretaker’s cottage, a long, winding driveway leading up to the stone house and a heated gunite pool with a cabana. 

The grounds also encompass a tennis court, naturally, a play court, a vegetable garden with raised beds, a pond, a generator, and equestrian facilities that include horse paddocks and a barn with six stalls.

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Morris declined to name the buyer, saying that “they saw it and fell in love with the land and the architecture and the presence of the house,” she said. “How that house is situated on the piece of land is so beautiful and so private.”

“This was a labor of love for Ivan,” Morris said. “It took him a long time to find this type of property. Ivan and Samantha fell in love with the privacy, and then they built a home that is among the finest in Litchfield County.”

“This was their full-time home, but as their kids got older and they were going back and forth to Florida, this became their summer-fall house,” she said.

“This was a hard release for both of them and their girls,” Morris added. “All of their memories were there.”

The name of the buyer, who was represented by Kiara Rusconi of William Raveis, could not be determined from property records. Lendl and his wife could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Lendl, 63, who retired from professional tennis in 1994, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in singles for a then-record 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. He won eight Grand Slam singles titles and was runner-up 11 times, making him the first man to contest 19 major finals. 

Architectural details inside the Cornwall estate include wide-plank oak throughout, crown and dentil moldings, 10-foot-plus ceilings, columns, arched doorways, extensive millwork and a cedar shake roof. The home’s main floor features a foyer with a grand staircase, formal living and dining rooms, a wood-paneled library, a trophy room/office, a butler’s pantry, a family room and the kitchen. Virtually every room on this level features French doors leading out to gardens and patios, according to the listing.

Upstairs, the primary bedroom suite offers two oversized walk-through closets, a sitting room and an oversized bathroom. The second floor also has an office with a paladin window and cherry bookcases, a children’s library and three additional en-suite bedrooms. The third floor has five en-suite bedrooms.

The lower level holds a wine cellar, storage and a game room, according to the listing. The Cornwall estate also has a three-bay detached garage complements and an attached three-bay garage with office space on the second floor.