[1] Venter was a semi-finalist at the Wimbledon Juniors in 1978 and moved to the United States that year to take up a tennis scholarship at UCLA.
[1][2] He was a three-time All-American and captained the UCLA side which won the team title in the 1982 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships.
[3][4] After that triumph he became a tour professional and with former UCLA teammate Blaine Willenborg he was runner-up in the doubles at the 1982 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, a tournament on the Grand Prix circuit held in Indianapolis.
[5] His only singles appearance in the main draw of a grand slam tournament came at the 1983 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost in the first round to Rodney Harmon, in four sets.
Venter retired from tennis in 1985 and completed an MBA at UCLA before working at Bear Stearns for three years.