View source for Magdalena Maleeva

{{Short description|Bulgarian tennis player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Family name hatnote|Georgieva|Maleeva|lang=Bulgarian}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
| name                  = Magdalena Maleeva
| native_name           = {{lang|bg|Магдалена Малеева}}
| image                 = Fed Cup Group I 2011 Europe Africa day 3 Magdalena Maleeva 002 (cropped).jpg
| caption               = Maleeva at the [[2011 Fed Cup]]
| nickname              =
| country               = {{BUL}}
| residence             = [[Sofia]], Bulgaria
| birth_date            = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1975|04|01}}
| birth_place           = Sofia, [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]
| height                = {{convert|1.68|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| turnedpro             = 1989
| retired               = 2005
| plays                 = Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
| careerprizemoney      = US$ 4,398,582
| singlesrecord         = {{tennis record|won=439|lost=290}}
| singlestitles         = 10 
| highestsinglesranking = No. 4 (29 January 1996)
| AustralianOpenresult  = 4R ([[1991 Australian Open – Women's singles|1991]], [[1993 Australian Open – Women's singles|1993]], [[1994 Australian Open – Women's singles|1994]], [[2002 Australian Open – Women's singles|2002]])
| FrenchOpenresult      = 4R ([[1993 French Open – Women's singles|1993]], [[1996 French Open – Women's singles|1996]], [[2003 French Open – Women's singles|2003]], [[2004 French Open – Women's singles|2004]])
| Wimbledonresult       = 4R ([[2001 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2001]], [[2002 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2002]], [[2004 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2004]], [[2005 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2005]])
| USOpenresult          = QF ([[1992 US Open – Women's singles|1992]])
| Othertournaments      = yes
| WTAChampionshipsresult = QF ([[2002 WTA Tour Championships – Singles|2002]])
| Olympicsresult         = 3R ([[Tennis at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Women's singles|1992]], [[Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's singles|1996]])
| doublesrecord          = {{tennis record|won=121|lost=133}}
| doublestitles          = 5 
| highestdoublesranking  = No. 13 (2 February 2004)
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult = 3R ([[1992 Australian Open – Women's doubles|1992]], [[2001 Australian Open – Women's doubles|2001]], [[2004 Australian Open – Women's doubles|2004]])
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 3R ([[1993 French Open – Women's doubles|1993]])
| WimbledonDoublesresult = 3R ([[1993 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|1993]], [[2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|2003]])
| USOpenDoublesresult    = QF ([[2003 US Open – Women's doubles|2003]])
| OthertournamentsDoubles = yes
| OlympicsDoublesresult  = 1R ([[Tennis at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Women's doubles|1992]], [[Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's doubles|1996]])
| Team                   = yes
| FedCupresult           = {{tennis record|won=27|lost=17|small=yes}}<br /><small>(singles 18–8; doubles 9-9)</small>
}}

'''Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva''' ({{langx|bg|Магдалена Георгиева Малеева}}, {{IPA|bg|mɐɡdɐˈlɛnɐ mɐˈlɛɛvɐ|pron}}; born 1 April 1975) is a [[Bulgarian people|Bulgarian]] former professional tennis player. Her best [[WTA rankings|WTA]] singles ranking was world No. 4. She played on the [[WTA Tour]] competing in singles and [[doubles (tennis)|doubles]], from April 1989 to October 2005 and has won ten career singles titles.

==Early life==
Born in [[Sofia]], Maleeva is the youngest of the three children of [[Yuliya Berberyan]] and Georgi Maleev. Yuliya, who came from a prominent [[Armenians|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tenniseurope.org/MediaInfocentre/Med_Info_Archive_bulgaria.aspx|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060415045015/http://www.tenniseurope.org/MediaInfocentre/Med_Info_Archive_bulgaria.aspx|archive-date = 15 April 2006|title = Tennis Europe}}</ref> After she retired from professional tennis in the 1970s, Berberyan started on a coaching career. She trained all of her three daughters, Magdalena, [[Katerina Maleeva|Katerina]] and [[Manuela Maleeva|Manuela]], each of whom eventually became WTA top six players.
==Career==
===Juniors===
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 (tennis)|Grand Slam]] debut at the French Open in 1990, she passed the qualifications and reached the third round. In 1990, Maleeva won three junior Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian, French and US Open. 
===Professional===
In 1992, Maleeva snatched her first [[WTA Tour]] event victory in San Marino and scored her best Grand Slam tournament result with a quarterfinal run at the US Open, upsetting [[Martina Navratilova]] on the way. The following year, she reached the fourth round at the [[Australian Open|Australian]], the [[French Open|French]] and the [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]], as well as the third round of the [[Wimbledon Championships]]. 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 – Women's singles|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 saw her hit a career-high ranking of No. 4 in January 1996.

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 re-entered top 20 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 (tennis)|doubles]]. She was the recipient of the "WTA Most Improved Player 1993" award and was nominated for the "WTA 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. 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.

Maleeva has been very active with the environmental organization '[http://www.gorichka.bg/ Gorichka.bg]', which works to create public awareness about urgent environmental problems. She also has created '[http://www.harmonica.bg/ Harmonica]', a brand for organic foods, as well as a couple of organic food stores in Sofia under the brand '[http://www.biomag.bg/ Biomag] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412145721/http://biomag.bg/ |date=12 April 2010 }}'. She is also a partner at the [http://www.maleevaclub.com/ 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70O0JJ/|title=Veteran Maleeva added to Bulgaria's Fed Cup team|website=[[Reuters]] |date=25 January 2011|accessdate=12 April 2024}}</ref><ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/124527/Magdalena+Maleeva+Joins+Bulgaria%27s+Tennis+Team+for+Fed+Cup|title= Magdalena Maleeva Joins Bulgaria's Tennis Team for Fed Cup|date=25 January 2011|accessdate=12 April 2024}} </ref>

In March 2011, Maleeva was voted eighth in the "100 most influential women in Bulgaria" by Pari newspaper. She has also appeared at Wimbledon's ladies' invitation doubles event on several occasions, achieving her best result in [[2015 Wimbledon Championships – Ladies' invitation doubles|2015]], where she partnered [[Rennae Stubbs]]; the pair defeated Navratilova and [[Selima Sfar]] in the final to win the title.

In February 2024, she was nominated as the captain of the [[Bulgaria Billie Jean King Cup team |Bulgarian BJK Cup]] team.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://twitter.com/lobdowntheline/status/1762839984367694023 | title=Magdalena Maleeva is the new Bulgarian BJKCup captain! | website=x.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/225371/Bulgaria%27s+Grigor+Dimitrov+Kicks+Off+Monte+Carlo+Masters+Campaign+as+ATP+Rankings+Unveiled |title= Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov Kicks Off Monte Carlo Masters Campaign as ATP Rankings Unveiled|date=8 April 2024 }}</ref>

== Career statistics ==
{{Main|Magdalena Maleeva career statistics}}

=== Grand Slam performance timelines ===
{{Performance key|short=yes|active=no}}

==== Singles ====
{| class="nowrap wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Tournament  !! [[1989 WTA Tour|1989]] !! [[1990 WTA Tour|1990]] !! [[1991 WTA Tour|1991]] !! [[1992 WTA Tour|1992]] !! [[1993 WTA Tour|1993]] !! [[1994 WTA Tour|1994]] !! [[1995 WTA Tour|1995]] !! [[1996 WTA Tour|1996]] !! [[1997 WTA Tour|1997]] !! [[1998 WTA Tour|1998]] !! [[1999 WTA Tour|1999]] !! [[2000 WTA Tour|2000]] !! [[2001 WTA Tour|2001]] !! [[2002 WTA Tour|2002]] !! [[2003 WTA Tour|2003]] !! [[2004 WTA Tour|2004]] !! [[2005 WTA Tour|2005]] !! SR !! W-L !! Win%
|-
| align="left" | [[Australian Open]]
| A
| align="center" |[[1990 Australian Open – Women's singles qualifying|Q2]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 Australian Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 Australian Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 Australian Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 Australian Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1995 Australian Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| A
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1998 Australian Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2000 Australian Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 Australian Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2002 Australian Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 Australian Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 Australian Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2005 Australian Open – Women's singles|3R]]
|0 / 12
|17–12
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=17|lost=12|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[French Open]]
| align="center" |[[1989 French Open – Women's singles qualifying|Q1]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1990 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 French Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1995 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1996 French Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1997 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1999 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2000 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2002 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 French Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 French Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2005 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
|0 / 15
|20–15
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=29|lost=15|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1990 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1996 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1997 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|3R]]
| A
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2000 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2002 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2005 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
|0 / 13
|21–13
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=21|lost=13|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]]
| align="center" |[[1989 US Open – Women's singles qualifying|Q1]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1990 US Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#ffebcd;" |[[1992 US Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 US Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 US Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1995 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1996 US Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1997 US Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| A
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2000 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2002 US Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 US Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2005 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
|0 / 14
|20–14
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=20|lost=14|integer=yes}}
|- style="background:#efefef; font-weight:bold;"
| style="text-align:left" |Win–loss
| 0–0
| 3–3
| 4–4
| 6–4
| 11–4
| 7–4
| 2–3
| 4–3
| 4–3
| 0–1
| 0–1
| 4–4
| 4–4
| 8–4
| 6–4
| 8–4
| 7–4
|0 / 54
|78–54
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=78|lost=54|integer=yes}}
|}

==== Doubles ====
{| class="nowrap wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Tournament  !! [[1990 WTA Tour|1990]] !! [[1991 WTA Tour|1991]] !! [[1992 WTA Tour|1992]] !! [[1993 WTA Tour|1993]] !! [[1994 WTA Tour|1994]] !! [[1995 WTA Tour|1995]] !! ... !! [[2000 WTA Tour|2000]] !! [[2001 WTA Tour|2001]] !! [[2002 WTA Tour|2002]] !! [[2003 WTA Tour|2003]] !! [[2004 WTA Tour|2004]] !! [[2005 WTA Tour|2005]] !! SR !! W-L !! Win%
|-
| align="left" | [[Australian Open]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 Australian Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 Australian Open – Women's doubles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 Australian Open – Women's doubles|2R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1995 Australian Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
|
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 Australian Open – Women's doubles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2002 Australian Open – Women's doubles|2R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 Australian Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 Australian Open – Women's doubles|3R]]
| A
|0 / 8
|8–8
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=8|lost=8|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[French Open]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 French Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 French Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 French Open – Women's doubles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 French Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| A
|
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 French Open – Women's doubles|2R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 French Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2004 French Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| A
|0 / 7
|3–7
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=3|lost=7|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|3R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|1R]]
| A
|
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|1R]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles|3R]]
| A
| A
|0 / 6
|4–6
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=4|lost=6|integer=yes}}
|-
| align="left" | [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1990 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1991 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1992 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1993 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[1994 US Open – Women's doubles|2R]]
| A
|
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2000 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2001 US Open – Women's doubles|1R]]
| A
| style="background:#ffebcd;" |[[2003 US Open – Women's doubles|QF]]
| A
| style="background:#afeeee;" |[[2005 US Open – Women's doubles|2R]]
|0 / 9
|5–9
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=5|lost=9|integer=yes}}
|- style="background:#efefef; font-weight:bold;"
| style="text-align:left" |Win–loss
| 0–1
| 0–4
| 2–4
| 5–4
| 1–3
| 0–1
|
| 0–1
| 3–4
| 1–1
| 5–4
| 2–2
| 1–1
|0 / 30
|20–30
|{{Tennis win percentage|won=20|lost=30|integer=yes}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Manuela Maleeva]]
* [[Katerina Maleeva]]
* [[List of female tennis players]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Magdalena Maleeva}}
* {{WTA}}
* {{ITF}}
* {{Fed Cup player}}
* [http://www.maleevaclub.com/ The Maleeva tennis club]
* [http://www.gorichka.bg/ Gorichka.bg]

{{Australian Open girls’ singles champions}}
{{French Open girls’ singles champions}}
{{US Open girls' singles champions}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maleeva, Magdalena}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian Open (tennis) junior champions]]
[[Category:Bulgarian female tennis players]]
[[Category:Bulgarian people of Armenian descent]]
[[Category:French Open junior champions]]
[[Category:Olympic tennis players for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Tennis players from Sofia]]
[[Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:US Open (tennis) junior champions]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles]]
[[Category:Maleeva sisters|Magdalena]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Armenian descent]]