Manuela Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Мануела Георгиева Малеева; born 14 February 1967) is a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

former professional tennis player. She played on the

WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tourna ...

between 1982 and 1994. Through her marriage, Maleeva began representing Switzerland officially from January 1990 until her retirement in February 1994. One of the most consistent players on tour in the 1980s and early 1990s, Maleeva reached her career-high singles ranking of No. 3 in the world in February 1985 and finished with a year-end top 10 ranking for nine consecutive years (1984 till 1992). A winner of 19 WTA singles titles and four doubles titles, she also reached a total of 14

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

quarterfinals in her career, including two US Open semifinals in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, which are her career-best Grand Slam results. She was a semifinalist at the 1987 Virginia Slims Championships. Maleeva was the bronze medalist in singles at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, winning Bulgaria's first (and thus far, only) Olympic tennis medal. In 1992, she paired up with

Jakob Hlasek Jakob Hlasek ( cz, Jakub Hlásek; born 12 November 1964) is a Swiss former professional tennis player of Czech origin. He won a major doubles title at the 1992 French Open, partnering Marc Rosset. Career The major highlights of Hlasek's career c ...

at the

Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...

where they took home

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

's first ever title at the event.

Career

Maleeva was born in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, the oldest of the three children of Georgi Maleev and

Yuliya Berberyan Yuliya Berberyan-Maleeva ( bg, Юлия Берберян-Малеева; born 6 October 1944) is a former Bulgarian tennis player. She and her husband, Georgi Maleev, had three daughters, Manuela, Katerina, and Magdalena, who were coached by th ...

. Her mother, who came from an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family, was the best Bulgarian tennis player in the 1960s. After she retired from professional tennis in the 1970s, Berberyan started a coaching career. She coached all three of her daughters, Manuela,

Katerina Katerina (Greek: Κατερίνα, ''Katerína''; Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian: Катерина, ''Katerina'') is a feminine given name. It is a Greek variant of '' Ekaterini'' and a Russian and Bulgarian short form of ''Ekaterina'' or '' ...

, and Magdalena, each of whom became a top six player. In 1982, Maleeva won the junior French Open, and also made her debut on the senior tour, ending the year ranked in the top 100. After ending the 1983 season in the top 40, she won five tournaments in 1984, and made her debut in the top 10 after defeating

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...

in the final of the Italian Open. She also won her only

title that year – in mixed doubles at the US Open with American

Tom Gullikson Tom Gullikson (born September 8, 1951) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and raised in Onalaska, Wisconsin in the United States.bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in singles at the

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. In 1992 and 1993, Maleeva-Fragnière registered her all-time best achievement in Grand Slam singles competition when she reached the semifinals of the US Open both years (in 1992, after beating youngest sister Magdalena in the quarterfinals). In 1994, Maleeva-Fragnière retired from professional tennis, after winning the title in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

where she beat

Iva Majoli Iva Majoli-Marić (born 12 August 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won seven ot ...

in the final. During her 12-year career, she won 19 WTA singles titles, four doubles titles, and one

mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...

title. She also teamed with

to help Switzerland win the

in 1992. In

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...

competition, Maleeva twice helped

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

reach the semifinals (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

), and then led

to the quarterfinals in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Personal life

Maleeva married Swiss tennis coach François Fragnière in December 1987 and from then on, began competing as Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière. She represented Switzerland from 1990 until her retirement. They have three children, Lora, born in 1995, Iva in 1997, Timo in 1999, but divorced in 2003. She currently resides in

La Tour-de-Peilz La Tour-de-Peilz () is a municipality in Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The city is located on Lake Geneva between Montreux and Vevey (their agglomeration counting some 80,000 inhabitants). History In the ...

, about 90 km northeast of Geneva across

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

Retirement life

Maleeva has been active in politics back in her home country, being one of the founding members of

Yes, Bulgaria! Yes, Bulgaria! ( bg, Да, България!, translit=Da, Balgariya!), is a Bulgarian political party, founded in January 2017 by former Minister of Justice Hristo Ivanov. Yes, Bulgaria! is part of a coalition with Democrats for a Strong Bulga ...

which was founded in 2017. The party focuses on institutional reforms and an anti-corruption agenda. Prior to that, she also advocated the

2015 Bulgarian electoral code referendum A referendum on introducing electronic voting was held in Bulgaria on 25 October 2015 alongside local elections. Although the referendum resulted was approved by a wide margin, turnout was far below the required threshold to make its result bindin ...

. Outside politics, Maleeva is also active in her foundation, Fondation Swissclinical, which she co-founded in 2008. The foundation focuses on helping handicapped children and children in need by providing them with good medical care and long-term support.

Major finals

Grand Slam tournament finals

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Olympics

Singles: 1 bronze medal

Maleeva-Fragnière lost in the semifinals to

Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 ...

1–6, 2–6. In 1988, there was no bronze medal play-off match; both beaten semifinal players received bronze medals.

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

WTA career finals

Singles: 37 (19 titles, 18 runner-ups)

Doubles: 11 (4 titles, 7 runner–ups)

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner–ups)

Doubles: 3 (3 titles)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Fed Cup

Manuela Maleeva debuted for the

Bulgaria Fed Cup team The Bulgaria women's national tennis team represents Bulgaria in Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Bulgarian Tennis Federation. In 2022, Bulgaria competed in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I event in Antalya, where t ...

in 1983. She has a 21–5 singles record and a 7–10 doubles record (28–15 overall).

Singles (21–5)

Doubles (7–10)

Record against other top players

Maleeva's win–loss record against certain players who have been ranked world No. 10 or higher is as follows: ''Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.'' *

Katerina Maleeva Katerina Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Катерина Георгиева Малеева; born 7 May 1969) is a former top 10 Bulgarian tennis player. She won eleven singles and two doubles WTA Tour titles. Her best position in the WTA rankings was ...

8–1 *

Catarina Lindqvist Anna Catarina Lindqvist Ryan (born 13 June 1963) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. Career Lindqvist turned professional in 1983. She reached a career high rank of World No. 10 in April 1985 and won five singles titles. She rea ...

7–2 *

Kathy Jordan Kathryn "Kathy" Jordan (born December 3, 1959) is a former American tennis player. During her career, she won seven Grand Slam titles, five of them in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles. She also was the 1983 Australian Open women's single ...

6–0 *

Kathy Rinaldi Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is a former professional American tennis player, who retired in September 1997. In her career, she won three singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimble ...

6–1 *

Lori McNeil Lori McNeil (born December 18, 1963) is an American tennis coach and former top 10 professional tennis player. McNeil was a singles semifinalist at the US Open in 1987 and Wimbledon in 1994, a women's doubles finalist at the Australian Open in ...

6–2 *

Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (''née'' Kohde; born 11 December 1963) is a former German tennis player and member of the Die Linke. During her tennis career, she won two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. She also won eight singles titles and a total of ...

5–2 */

Helena Suková Helena Suková () (born 23 February 1965) is a Czech former professional tennis player. During her career, she won 14 major doubles titles, nine in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles. She is also a two-time Olympic silver medalist in doub ...

5–2 *

Conchita Martínez "Conchita" Martínez Bernat (born 16 April 1972) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, doing so in 1994 Wimbledon Championships � ...

5–4 *

Sylvia Hanika Sylvia Hanika (born 30 November 1959) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. She is best remembered for finishing runner-up at the French Open in 1981, and for winning the Year End Championships in 1982. She was ranked as high as N ...

4–0 */

Natasha Zvereva Natallia Marataŭna Zvierava ( be, Наталля Маратаўна Зверава; russian: Наталья Маратовна Зверева, Natalia Maratovna Zvereva; born 16 April 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Belarus. ...

4–0 *

Jo Durie Joanna Mary Durie (born 27 July 1960) is a former world No. 5 tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she also reached No. 9 in doubles, and won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles with Jeremy Bates. Born in Bris ...

4–1 *

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy Brenda Anne Marie Schultz-McCarthy (born 28 December 1970) is a former Dutch tennis player. Primarily known by her maiden name Brenda Schultz, she married Sean McCarthy, a former American football American football (referred to simply a ...

4–1 *

Zina Garrison Zina Lynna Garrison (born November 16, 1963) is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze m ...

4–2 *

Nathalie Tauziat Nathalie Tauziat (born 17 October 1967) is a French former professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships and runner-up in the women's doubles at the 2001 US Open partnering Kimberl ...

4–6 */

Karina Habšudová Karina Habšudová (; born 2 August 1973) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as 10 in the world (1997). Together with Karol Kučera, she won the Hopman Cup in 1998. Her best performance at a Grand Slam to ...

3–0 *

Mima Jaušovec Mima Jaušovec (; born 20 July 1956) is a retired Yugoslavian tennis player. She won the 1977 French Open singles championship. Early life Jaušovec was born in Maribor, in present-day Slovenia, when it was part of Yugoslavia. Career As a gir ...

3–0 *

Lisa Bonder Lisa Bonder (born October 16, 1965), also known as Lisa Bonder-Kreiss or Lisa Bonder-Kerkorian, is an American former professional tennis player. During her career, she won four singles titles on the WTA circuit and reached a highest ranking of N ...

3–1 * Barbara Potter 3–2 *

Andrea Temesvári Andrea Temesvári (born 26 April 1966) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. She won the Italian Open at age sixteen, but injuries would later hamper her career. Born in Budapest, Temesvári began playing tennis at age nine. Sh ...

3–2 * Bonnie Gadusek 3–4 */

Hana Mandlíková Hana Mandlíková (born 19 February 1962) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia who later obtained Australian citizenship. During her career she won four Grand Slam singles titles - the 1980 Australian Open, 1981 French Op ...

3–4 */

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

3–11 *

Magdalena Maleeva Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Магдалена Георгиева Малеева, ; born 1 April 1975) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to Octo ...

2–0 *

Dominique Monami Dominique Monami (born 31 May 1973) is a former tennis player from Belgium. She is her country's first ever top-10 tennis professional. Monami was born in Verviers. In 1995, she married her coach Bart Van Roost, with whom she has a daughter, an ...

2–0 *

Virginia Ruzici Virginia Ruzici (born 31 January 1955) is a former professional tennis player from Romania. She won the 1978 French Open singles championship. Career Ruzici became a professional tennis player in 1975. One of her main assets on court was her po ...

2–0 *

Carling Bassett-Seguso Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso (born 9 October 1967) is a former Canadian professional tennis player. Bassett is the daughter of John F. Bassett and Susan Carling, and the granddaughter of media baron John Bassett and politician and brewery exec ...

2–1 *

Kathleen Horvath Erica Kathleen "Kathy" Horvath (born August 25, 1965) is an American former professional tennis player. She is best known for upsetting world No. 1 Martina Navratilova in the fourth round of the 1983 French Open, delivering her only defeat for t ...

2–1 *

Dianne Fromholtz Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (née Fromholtz; born 10 August 1956) is an Australian former professional tennis player who reached a highest singles ranking of world No. 4 in 1979. Career Fromholtz began playing tennis at the age of seven. She ...

2–2 * Bettina Bunge 2–3 *

Mary Joe Fernández Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (born María José Fernández; August 19, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in both singles and doubles. In singles, Fernández was the runner-up ...

2–5 *

2–7 *

Pam Shriver Pamela Howard Shriver (born July 4, 1962) is an American former professional tennis player and current tennis broadcaster and pundit. During the 1980s and 1990s, Shriver won 133 titles, including 21 singles titles, 111 women's doubles titles, an ...

2–7 *

2–17 *

Sue Barker Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

1–0 *

Kimiko Date-Krumm is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking ...

1–0 *

Julie Halard-Decugis Julie Halard-Decugis (born 10 September 1970) is a French former professional tennis player. Tennis career Halard-Decugis lived in La Baule, France, during the initial stages of her career and later moved to Pully, Switzerland. She turned profes ...

1–0 *

Mary Pierce Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a retired tennis professional who represented France internationally in team competitions and the Olympics. She was born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, and holds citizenship of ...

1–0 * Stephanie Rehe 1–0 *

Barbara Paulus Barbara Paulus (born 1 September 1970) is a former professional top-ten tennis player from Austria. She began playing on the WTA Tour in 1986 and retired in 2001. During her career, she won a total of seven WTA tournaments (six singles titles, on ...

1–1 */

Jana Novotná Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbled ...

1–2 *

Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull, , (born 26 November 1952) is a retired tennis player from Australia. During her career, she won nine Grand Slam titles, four of them in women's doubles and five of them in mixed doubles. She also was a three-time Grand Slam runn ...

1–2 *

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. She won 14 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: four in singles, ...

1–5 *

Tracy Austin Tracy Ann Austin Holt (born December 12, 1962) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. She won three Grand Slam titles: the women's singles titles at the 1979 and 1981 US Opens, and the mixed doubles title at the 1980 Wimbledon ...

0–1 *

Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Maria Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. A member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she won three singles Grand Slam titles and was the gold medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. C ...

0–1 *

Evonne Goolagong Cawley Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open singl ...

0–1 *

Anke Huber Anke Huber (born 4 December 1974) is a German retired top-five professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open – Women's singles, 1996 Australian Open and the 1995 WTA Tour Championships, 1995 W ...

0–2 *//

Monica Seles Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Slam ...

0–9 *

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...

0–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maleeva, Manuela 1967 births Bulgarian female tennis players Bulgarian people of Armenian descent French Open champions French Open junior champions Hopman Cup competitors Living people Naturalised citizens of Switzerland Olympic medalists in tennis Olympic tennis players of Switzerland Olympic tennis players of Bulgaria Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria People from Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District Sportspeople from Sofia Swiss female tennis players Swiss people of Armenian descent Bulgarian emigrants to Switzerland Tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics US Open (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Manuela

Career

Personal life

Retirement life

Major finals

Grand Slam tournament finals

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Olympics

Singles: 1 bronze medal

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

WTA career finals

Singles: 37 (19 titles, 18 runner-ups)

Doubles: 11 (4 titles, 7 runner–ups)

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner–ups)

Doubles: 3 (3 titles)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Fed Cup

Singles (21–5)

Doubles (7–10)

Record against other top players

See also

References

External links