Manuela Georgieva Maleeva (
Bulgarian: Мануела Георгиева Малеева; born 14 February 1967) is a
Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the
WTA Tour 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 quarterfinals in her career, including two US Open semifinals in
1992 and
1993, 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, winning Bulgaria's first (and thus far, only) Olympic tennis medal. In 1992, she paired up with
Jakob Hlasek at the
Hopman Cup where they took home
Switzerland's first ever title at the event.
Career
Maleeva was born in
Sofia, the oldest of the three children of Georgi Maleev and
Yuliya Berberyan. Her mother, who came from an
Armenian 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, and
Magdalena, each of whom became a top six player.[1]
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.[2] 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 in the final of the
Italian Open. She also won her only
Grand Slam title that year – in mixed doubles at the
US Open with American
Tom Gullikson.[2]
In 1988, Maleeva-Fragnière won a
bronze medal in singles at the
Seoul Olympics in
Seoul. 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).[2]
In 1994, Maleeva-Fragnière retired from professional tennis, after winning the title in
Osaka where she beat
Iva Majoli in the final. During her 12-year career, she won 19 WTA singles titles, four doubles titles, and one
mixed doubles title. She also teamed with
Jakob Hlasek to help Switzerland win the
Hopman Cup in 1992.[2]
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.[1] She currently resides in
La Tour-de-Peilz, about 90 km northeast of Geneva across
Lake Geneva.[2][3]
Retirement life
Maleeva has been active in politics back in her home country, being one of the founding members of
Yes, Bulgaria! which was founded in 2017. The party focuses on institutional reforms and an anti-corruption agenda.[4][5][6] Prior to that, she also advocated the
2015 Bulgarian electoral code referendum.[7][1]
Outside politics, Maleeva is also active in her foundation, Fondation Swissclinical, which she co-founded in 2008.[8] The foundation focuses on helping handicapped children and children in need by providing them with good medical care and long-term support.[3][1]
Maleeva-Fragnière lost in the semifinals to
Gabriela Sabatini 1–6, 2–6. In 1988, there was no bronze medal play-off match; both beaten semifinal players received bronze medals.
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
DNQ
A
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.