Country (sports) |
Bulgaria (1982–89) Switzerland (1990–94) |
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Residence | La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland | ||||||||||||
Born |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
14 February 1967 ||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||
Turned pro | 1982 | ||||||||||||
Retired | February 1994 | ||||||||||||
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||
Prize money | $3,244,557 | ||||||||||||
Singles | |||||||||||||
Career record | 475–187 | ||||||||||||
Career titles | 19 WTA, 0 ITF | ||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 3 (4 February 1985) | ||||||||||||
Grand Slam Singles results | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | QF (1985, 1992, 1994) | ||||||||||||
French Open | QF (1985, 1987, 1989, 1990) | ||||||||||||
Wimbledon | QF (1984) | ||||||||||||
US Open | SF (1992, 1993) | ||||||||||||
Olympic Games | Bronze Medal (1988) | ||||||||||||
Doubles | |||||||||||||
Career record | 129–131 | ||||||||||||
Career titles | 4 WTA, 1 ITF | ||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 11 (2 August 1993) | ||||||||||||
Mixed doubles | |||||||||||||
Career titles | 1 | ||||||||||||
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |||||||||||||
US Open | W (1984) | ||||||||||||
Team competitions | |||||||||||||
Fed Cup |
Bulgaria SF (1985, 1987) Switzerland QF (1991) |
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Hopman Cup |
Switzerland W (1992) |
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Medal record
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Manuela Georgieva Maleeva-Fragnière (Bulgarian: Мануела Георгиева Малеева) (born 14 February 1967) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the Women's Tennis Association tour between 1982 and 1994. Through her marriage Maleeva began representing Switzerland officially from January 1990 until her retirement in February 1994.
Maleeva-Fragnière 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 WTA top ten players.
In 1982, Maleeva-Fragnière won the junior French Open. Later that year, she made her debut on the senior tour and ended the year ranked in the top 200.
In 1984, Maleeva-Fragnière won five tournaments and recorded wins over Chris Evert, Hana Mandlíková, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Wendy Turnbull, Kathy Jordan, and Zina Garrison Jackson. After winning the tournament in Indianapolis, Maleeva-Fragnire rose to World No. 3 in the rankings. Once in the top ten, she did not leave it until 1992. Also in 1984, Maleeva won her only Grand Slam title – in mixed doubles at the US Open with American Tom Gullikson.