Magdalena Maleeva

Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva (Bulgarian: Магдалена Георгиева Малеева, pronounced [mɐɡdɐˈlɛnɐ mɐˈlɛɛvɐ]; 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 October 2005. Her best WTA singles ranking was world No. 4.

Magdalena Maleeva
Native nameМагдалена Малеева
Country (sports) Bulgaria
ResidenceSofia, Bulgaria
Born (1975-04-01) 1 April 1975
Sofia, Bulgaria
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned proApril 1989
RetiredOctober 2005
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,398,582
Singles
Career record439–290
Career titles10 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 4 (29 January 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (1991, 1993, 1994, 2002)
French Open4R (1993, 1996, 2003, 2004)
Wimbledon4R (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005)
US OpenQF (1992)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (2002)
Olympic Games3R (1992, 1996)
Doubles
Career record121–133
Career titles5 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 13 (2 February 2004)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1992, 2004)
French Open3R (1993)
Wimbledon3R (2003)
US OpenQF (2003)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1992, 1996)
Team competitions
Fed Cup27–17

Biography

Born in Sofia, Maleeva was the youngest of the three children of Yuliya Berberyan and Georgi Maleev. Yuliya, who came from a prominent Armenian family which found refuge in Bulgaria after the 1896 Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire, was one of the best Bulgarian tennis players in the 1960s.[1] After she retired from professional tennis in the 1970s, Berberyan started on a coaching career. She trained all of her three daughters, Magdalena, Katerina and Manuela, each of whom eventually became WTA top six players.

In 1988, Maleeva became the youngest ever national tennis champion of Bulgaria, at the age of 13 years and four months. She turned professional in 1989, reaching the final of her first professional tournament (ITF) at Bari. In her Grand Slam debut at the French Open in 1990, she passed the qualifications and reached the third round. In 1992, Maleeva snatched her first WTA Tour event victory in San Marino. The following year she reached the fourth round at the Australian, the French and the US Open, as well as the third round of Wimbledon. That same year, she was the opponent of Monica Seles at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany when a deranged fan stabbed Seles in the back on the court. Her best performance at a Grand Slam championship came when she got to the quarterfinals of the 1992 US Open, defeating Kateřina Kroupová-Šišková, Martina Navratilova, Kimberly Po and Chanda Rubin before losing to her older sister Manuela. In 1995 Maleeva won a total of three tournaments, in Moscow, Chicago, Oakland, which allowed her to reach a career-high No. 4 in the WTA rankings in January 1996.[2]

In June 1998, Maleeva underwent shoulder surgery, which forced her off the tour for the next eleven months. She started competing again in May 1999 and reached top 20 again in 2001. In 2002, she won the prestigious Kremlin Cup in Moscow, defeating three top-10 players on her way (Venus Williams, Amélie Mauresmo, and Lindsay Davenport). In 2004, she married her long-standing boyfriend, Lubomir Nokov.

Maleeva won a career total of ten WTA titles in singles and five in doubles. She was the recipient of the WTA award "Most Improved Player 1993" and was nominated for the WTA award "Most Impressive Newcomer 1990". She participated at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, and Athens.

Life after tennis

In October 2005, Maleeva retired from professional tennis after 16 seasons (years), and became the last of the Maleeva sisters to retire. She now lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. On 27 June 2007, she gave birth to her first child, a girl named Youlia, and on 13 December 2008 she gave birth to a second child – Marko and on 20 August 2012 to their third child – Nina. Magdalena has been very active with the environmental organization 'Gorichka.bg', which works to create public awareness about urgent environmental problems. She also has created 'Harmonica', a brand for organic foods, has a couple of organic food stores in Sofia under the brand 'Biomag', and is a partner at the Maleeva tennis club.

In October 2010, Maleeva won the Bulgarian national outdoor championship, becoming the youngest and the oldest player to have won it, within 22 years.

In 2011, she made a brief tennis comeback, playing and winning three doubles matches for Bulgaria at the Fed Cup.[3]

In March 2011, Maleeva was voted eighth in the "100 most influential women in Bulgaria" by Pari newspaper.

WTA career finals

Singles: 21 (10–11)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (2–3)
Tier II (2–4)
Tier III (3–3)
Tier IV (1–0)
Tier V (2–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 28 April 1991 Bol, Yugoslavia Clay Sandra Cecchini 4–6, 6–3, 5–7
Winner 1. 27 July 1992 San Marino Clay Federica Bonsignori 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Runner-up 2. 10 January 1993 Brisbane, Australia Hard Conchita Martínez 3–6, 4–6
Winner 2. 25 September 1994 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Sandra Cecchini 7–5, 6–1
Winner 3. 9 October 1994 Zurich, Switzerland Carpet (i) Natasha Zvereva 7–5, 3–6, 6–4
Winner 4. 12 February 1995 Chicago, United States Carpet (i) Lisa Raymond 7–5, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up 3. 2 April 1995 Hilton Head, United States Clay Conchita Martínez 1–6, 1–6
Runner-up 4. 21 May 1995 Berlin, Germany Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 4–6, 1–6
Winner 5. 24 September 1995 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Elena Makarova 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 5. 1 October 1995 Leipzig, Germany Carpet (i) Anke Huber w/o
Winner 6. 5 November 1995 Oakland, Unite States Carpet (i) Ai Sugiyama 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 6. 26 May 1996 Madrid, Spain Clay Jana Novotná 6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Winner 7. 21 November 1999 Pattaya City, Thailand Hard Anne Kremer 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 7. 1 October 2000 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Carpet (i) Jennifer Capriati 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 8. 18 February 2001 Nice, France Carpet (i) Amélie Mauresmo 2–6, 0–6
Winner 8. 22 April 2001 Budapest, Hungary Clay Anne Kremer 3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 9. 30 September 2001 Leipzig, Germany Carpet (i) Kim Clijsters 1–6, 1–6
Winner 9. 6 October 2002 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Lindsay Davenport 5–7, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up 10. 27 October 2002 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Kim Clijsters 1–6, 2–6
Winner 10. 15 June 2003 Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Shinobu Asagoe 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 11. 8 February 2004 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) Lindsay Davenport 4–6, 1–6

Doubles: 10 (5–5)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (1–1)
Tier II (2–1)
Tier III (1–3)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (1–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 28 April 1991 Bol, Yugoslavia Clay Laura Golarsa Sandra Cecchini
Laura Garrone		 w/o
Runner-up 1. 14 February 1993 Osaka, Japan Carpet (i) Manuela Maleeva Jana Novotná
Larisa Neiland		 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 25 April 1993 Barcelona, Spain Clay Manuela Maleeva Conchita Martínez
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 6–4, 1–6, 0–6
Winner 2. 17 February 2002 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet (i) Patty Schnyder Nathalie Dechy
Meilen Tu		 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3
Runner-up 3. 23 June 2002 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Bianka Lamade Catherine Barclay
Martina Müller		 4–6, 5–7
Winner 3. 30 March 2003 Miami, United States Hard Liezel Huber Shinobu Asagoe
Nana Miyagi		 6–4, 3–6, 7–5
Winner 4. 4 May 2003 Warsaw, Poland Clay Liezel Huber Eleni Daniilidou
Francesca Schiavone		 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 4. 10 January 2004 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Liezel Huber Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Likhovtseva		 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 8 February 2004 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) Elena Likhovtseva Cara Black
Rennae Stubbs		 0–6, 1–6
Winner 5. 8 January 2005 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Elena Likhovtseva Maria Elena Camerin
Silvia Farina Elia		 6–3, 5–7, 6–1

ITF Circuit finals: 3 (2–1)

Singles: 2 (1–1)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 9 April 1989 Bari, Italy Clay Eva Maria Schuerhof 6–2, 1–6, 6–7(5–7)
Winner 1. 5 December 1999 Cergy-Pontoise, France Hard (i) Seda Noorlander 6–1, 6–4

Doubles: 1 (1–0)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 25 March 1990 Moulins, France Carpet (i) Andrea Strnadová Valerie Ledroff
Pascale Paradis		 3–6, 6–1, 6–1

Fed Cup

Magdalena Maleeva debuted for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team in 1991. Since then she has an 18–8 singles record and a 9–9 doubles record (27–17 overall).

Singles (18–8)
Edition Round Date Against Surface Opponent W/L Result
1991 World Group I R1 22 July 1991  Hungary Hard Petra Schmitt W 6–1, 6–2
R2 24 July 1991  United States Jennifer Capriati L 5–7, 2–6
1992 World Group I R1 14 July 1992  Australia Clay Rachel McQuillan W 7–6(7–4), 6–2
RPO 16 July 1992  Romania Ruxandra Dragomir W 6–0, 6–1
1993 World Group I R1 19 July 1993  South Korea Clay Park Sung-hee W 6–0, 6–4
R2 21 July 1993  Argentina Florencia Labat W 6–4, 5–7, 6–3
1994 World Group I R1 19 July 1994  Croatia Clay Iva Majoli L 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
R2 21 July 1994  Indonesia Yayuk Basuki W 6–3, 6–3
QF 22 July 1994  France Mary Pierce W 6–7(6–8), 6–4, 6–4
1995 World Group I QF 22 April 1995  Spain Carpet (I) Conchita Martínez L 2–6, 4–6
23 April 1995 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario W 6–3, 6–3
1998 Europe/Africa Group I RR 14 April 1998  Romania Clay Raluca Sandu L 1–6, 3–6
15 April 1998  South Africa Mariaan de Swardt L 1–6, 5–7
16 April 1998  Latvia Elena Krutko L 6–7(2–7), 6–1, 1–6
2002 Europe/Africa Group I RR 24 April 2002  Portugal Clay Angela Cardoso W 6–0, 6–0
25 April 2002  Georgia Salome Devidze W 6–1, 6–3
26 April 2002  Estonia Kaia Kanepi W 6–4, 6–2
PPO 27 April 2002  Ukraine Yuliya Beygelzimer L 3–6, 4–6
2003 Europe/Africa Group I RR 21 April 2003  Georgia Clay Margalita Chakhnashvili W 6–3, 6–1
23 April 2003  Serbia and Montenegro Jelena Janković W 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
24 April 2003  Israel Anna Smashnova W 7–5, 6–4
2005 Europe/Africa Group I RR 20 April 2005  South Africa Clay Natalie Grandin W 6–4, 6–3
21 April 2005  Hungary Zsófia Gubacsi W 7–6(7–4), 6–2
PPO 23 April 2005  Netherlands Michaëlla Krajicek W 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
2005 World Group II Play-offs PO 9 July 2005  Japan Hard (I) Aiko Nakamura W 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
10 July 2005 Akiko Morigami L 6–7(3–7), 3–6

Doubles (9–9)
Edition Round Date Partner Against Surface Opponents W/L Result
1991 World Group I R1 22 July 1991 Katerina Maleeva  Hungary Hard Virág Csurgó
Ágnes Muzamel		 W 6–1, 6–2
R2 24 July 1991 Katerina Maleeva  United States Gigi Fernández
Zina Garrison-Jackson		 L 2–6, 1–6
1992 World Group I R1 14 July 1992 Katerina Maleeva  Australia Hard Nicole Bradtke
Rennae Stubbs		 L 2–6, 1–6
RPO 16 July 1992 Elena Pampoulova  Romania Ruxandra Dragomir
Irina Spîrlea		 L 6–7(5–7), 2–6
1993 World Group I R2 21 July 1993 Katerina Maleeva  Argentina Clay Inés Gorrochategui
Patricia Tarabini		 L 7–5, 4–6, 2–6
1994 World Group I R1 19 July 1994 Katerina Maleeva  Croatia Clay Iva Majoli
Maja Murić		 W 6–2, 6–3
QF 22 July 1994 Katerina Maleeva  France Julie Halard
Nathalie Tauziat		 L 2–6, 6–3, 2–6
1995 World Group I QF 23 April 1995 Katerina Maleeva  Spain Carpet (I) Neus Ávila Bonastre
Virginia Ruano Pascual		 W 6–0, 6–1
2002 Europe/Africa Group I RR 24 April 2002 Desislava Topalova  Portugal Clay Angela Cardoso
Ana Catarina Nogueira		 W 6–2, 7–5
PPO 27 April 2002 Desislava Topalova  Ukraine Yuliya Beygelzimer
Alona Bondarenko		 L 4–6, 0–6
2003 Europe/Africa Group I RR 21 April 2003 Desislava Topalova  Georgia Clay Margalita Chakhnashvili
Tinatin Kavlashvili		 W 6–1, 6–2
23 April 2003 Desislava Topalova  Serbia and Montenegro Katarina Mišić
Dragana Zarić		 L 3–6, 6–3, 0–6
24 April 2003 Desislava Topalova  Israel Tzipora Obziler
Anna Smashnova		 L 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 3–6
2005 Europe/Africa Group I RR 20 April 2005 Sesil Karatantcheva  South Africa Clay Lizaan du Plessis
Alicia Pillay		 W 6–3, 6–2
21 April 2005 Sesil Karatantcheva  Hungary Virág Németh
Ágnes Szávay		 L 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
2011 Europe/Africa Group I RR 2 February 2011 Tsvetana Pironkova  Poland Hard Klaudia Jans-Ignacik
Alicja Rosolska		 W 6–1, 6–3
3 February 2011 Tsvetana Pironkova  Luxembourg Anne Kremer
Claudine Schaul		 W 6–2, 7–5
4 February 2011 Dia Evtimova  Israel Valeria Patiuk
Keren Shlomo		 W 6–3, 6–4
  • RR = Round Robin
  • PPO = Promotion Play-off
  • RPO = Relegation Play-off

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005Career SRCareer Win-Loss
Australian Open A Q2 4R 1R 4R 4R 1R A A 1R A 1R 1R 4R 3R 2R 3R 0 / 12 17–12
French Open Q1 3R 1R 3R 4R 1R 2R 4R 1R A 1R 3R 1R 1R 4R 4R 2R 0 / 15 20–15
Wimbledon A 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R A 2R 3R A A 2R 4R 4R 2R 4R 4R 0 / 13 21–13
US Open Q1 1R 2R QF 4R 4R 2R 1R 3R A A 2R 2R 3R 1R 2R 2R 0 / 14 20–14
SR 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 54 78–54
Year End Ranking 216 73 38 20 16 11 6 19 36 115 89 22 16 14 30 25 52
  • A = did not participate in the tournament.
  • SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Head-to head record against other top players

As of 11 November 2010, Maleeva's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked world No. 10 or higher is as follows:[4] Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

See also

References
  1. http://www.tenniseurope.org/MediaInfocentre/Med_Info_Archive_Bulgaria.aspx%5B%5D
  2. Manova, Tanya (2 April 2005). "Маги навършва 30 на корта" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  4. Player Profiles Archived 17 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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