20 Facts About Magdalena Maleeva

Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player.

Magdalena Maleeva played on the WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to October 2005 and has won ten career singles titles.

Magdalena Maleeva trained all of her three daughters, Magdalena, Katerina and Manuela, each of whom eventually became WTA top six players.

In 1988, Magdalena Maleeva became the youngest ever national tennis champion of Bulgaria, at the age of 13 years and four months.

Magdalena Maleeva turned professional in 1989, reaching the final of her first professional tournament at Bari.

In 1990, Magdalena Maleeva won three junior Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian, French and US Open.

In 1992, Magdalena 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.

In 1995, Magdalena 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, Magdalena Maleeva underwent shoulder surgery, which forced her off the tour for the next eleven months.

Magdalena Maleeva started competing again in May 1999 and re-entered top 20 in 2001.

Magdalena Maleeva won a career total of ten WTA titles in singles and five in doubles.

Magdalena Maleeva was the recipient of the "WTA Most Improved Player 1993" award and was nominated for the "WTA Most Impressive Newcomer 1990".

Magdalena Maleeva participated at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, and Athens.

In October 2005, Magdalena Maleeva retired from professional tennis after 16 seasons, and became the last of the Magdalena Maleeva sisters to retire.

Magdalena Maleeva has been very active with the environmental organization 'Gorichka.

Magdalena Maleeva is a partner at the Maleeva Tennis Club.

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

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

Magdalena Maleeva has appeared at Wimbledon's ladies' invitation doubles event on several occasions, achieving her best result in 2015, where she partnered Rennae Stubbs; the pair defeated Navratilova and Selima Sfar in the final to win the title.

Magdalena Maleeva debuted for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team in 1991.