Biography

Maleeva-Fragniere 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-Fragniere 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-Fragniere 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-Fragniere 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.

In 1988, Maleeva-Fragniere won a bronze medal in singles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

In 1992 and 1993, Maleeva-Fragniere 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 her sister, Magdalena, in the quarterfinals).

In 1994, Maleeva-Fragniere retired from professional tennis.

During her 12-year career, Maleeva won 19 WTA Tour singles titles, four doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. She teamed with Jakob Hlasek to help Switzerland win the Hopman Cup in 1992 and, while playing for Bulgaria, twice reached the semifinals of Fed Cup (1985 and 1987).

Maleeva was married in 1987 to Swiss tennis coach François Fragniere. They lived in Blonay, Switzerland, had two girls and a boy (Lora born in 1995, Iva born in 1997 and Timo born in 1999) but divorced in 2004. Then Manuela Maleeva moved with her kids to La Tour-de-Peilz, not far from Lausanne.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 title, 0 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1984	US Open	Hard	Tom Gullikson	Elizabeth Smylie John Fitzgerald	2-6, 7-5, 6-4

Olympics

Singles: 1 medal (1 bronze medal)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Bronze	1988	Seoul	Hard	Tied	DNP

Maleeva lost in the semi-finals to Gabriela Sabatini 6-1, 6-2. In 1988, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semi-final players received bronze medals.

WTA Career Finals

Singles: 37 (19-18)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0-0) WTA Tour Championships (0-0) Tier I (1-1) Tier II (0-0) Tier III (3-4) Tier IV (3-2) Tier V (4-0) Virginia Slims (8-11)

Titles by Surface Hard (4-2) Grass (0-1) Clay (6-6) Carpet (9-9)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	30 January 1984	Houston, USA	Carpet (I)	Hana Mandlíková	4-6, 2-6
Winner	1.	7 May 1984	Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Iva Budařová	6-1, 6-1
Winner	2.	21 May 1984	Perugia, Italy	Clay	Chris Evert	6-3, 6-3
Winner	3.	6 August 1984	Indianapolis, USA	Clay	Lisa Bonder	6-4, 6-3
Winner	4.	12 November 1984	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Hana Mandlíková	6-1, 1-6, 6-4
Winner	5.	10 December 1984	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up	2.	7 January 1985	Washington, USA	Carpet (I)	Martina Navratilova	3-6, 2-6
Runner-up	3.	20 May 1985	Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Bonnie Gadusek	4-6, 2-6
Runner-up	4.	21 October 1985	Brighton, UK	Carpet (I)	Chris Evert	5-7, 3-6
Runner-up	5.	11 November 1985	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Chris Evert	5-7, 0-6
Winner	6.	9 December 1985	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Bonnie Gadusek	7-6(7-2), 3-6, 7-5
Runner-up	6.	19 May 1986	Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Raffaella Reggi	7-5, 3-6, 6-7(6-8)
Runner-up	7.	9 June 1986	Birmingham, UK	Grass	Pam Shriver	2-6, 6-7(0-7)
Runner-up	8.	8 September 1986	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Steffi Graf	4-6, 2-6
Winner	7.	30 March 1987	Wild Dunes, USA	Clay	Raffaella Reggi	5-7, 6-2, 6-3
Runner-up	9.	6 April 1987	Hilton Head Island, USA	Clay	Steffi Graf	2-6, 6-4, 3-6
Runner-up	10.	18 May 1987	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Chris Evert	3-6, 6-4, 2-6
Winner	8.	24 August 1987	Mahwah, USA	Hard	Sylvia Hanika	1-6, 6-4, 6-1
Runner-up	11.	14 September 1987	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Gabriela Sabatini	4-6, 6-7(6-8)
Winner	9.	29 February 1988	Wichita, USA	Hard (I)	Sylvia Hanika	7-6(7-5), 7-5
Winner	10.	12 September 1988	Phoenix, USA	Hard	Dinky Van Rensburg	6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Runner-up	12.	17 October 1988	Zürich, Switzerland	Carpet (I)	Pam Shriver	3-6, 4-6
Runner-up	13.	24 October 1988	Brighton, UK	Carpet (I)	Steffi Graf	2-6, 0-6
Winner	11.	12 March 1989	Indian Wells, USA	Hard	Jenny Byrne	6-4, 6-1
Winner	12.	22 May 1989	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Conchita Martínez	6-4, 6-0
Runner-up	14.	12 February 1990	Chicago, USA	Carpet (I)	Martina Navratilova	3-6, 2-6
Runner-up	15.	27 March 1990	San Antonio, USA	Hard	Monica Seles	4-6, 3-6
Runner-up	16.	6 August 1990	San Diego, USA	Hard	Steffi Graf	3-6, 2-6
Winner	13.	11 February 1991	Linz, Austria	Carpet (I)	Petra Langrová	6-4, 7-6(7-1)
Runner-up	17.	22 April 1991	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Conchita Martínez	4-6, 1-6
Winner	14.	20 May 1991	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Helen Kelesi	6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Winner	15.	23 September 1991	Bayonne, France	Carpet (I)	Leila Meskhi	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up	18.	6 July 1992	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Conchita Martínez	0-6, 6-3, 2-6
Winner	16.	28 September 1992	Bayonne, France	Carpet (I)	Nathalie Tauziat	6-7(4-7), 6-2, 6-3
Winner	17.	22 February 1993	Linz, Austria	Carpet (I)	Conchita Martínez	6-2, 1-0, Ret.
Winner	18.	4 October 1993	Zürich, Switzerland	Carpet (I)	Martina Navratilova	6-3, 7-6(7-1)
Winner	19.	8 February 1994	Osaka, Japan	Carpet (I)	Iva Majoli	6-1, 4-6, 7-5

Doubles: 11 (4-7)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0-0) WTA Tour Championships (0-0) Tier I (0-0) Tier II (1-2) Tier III (0-1) Tier IV (0-1) Tier V (1-0) Virginia Slims (2-3)

Titles by Surface Hard (0-1) Grass (0-0) Clay (3-3) Carpet (1-3)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	April 29, 1985	Houston, USA	Clay	Helena Suková	Elise Burgin Martina Navratilova	1-6, 6-3, 3-6
Winner	1.	July 22, 1985	Indianapolis, USA	Clay	Katerina Maleeva	Penny Barg Paula Smith	3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up	2.	September 8, 1986	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Katerina Maleeva	Bettina Bunge Steffi Graf	1-6, 7-6(9-7), 2-6
Winner	2.	July 6, 1987	Knokke, Belgium	Clay	Bettina Bunge	Kathleen Horvath Marcella Mesker	4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up	3.	September 14, 1987	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Katerina Maleeva	Anne White Robin White	1-6, 2-6
Winner	3.	February 11, 1991	Linz, Austria	Carpet (I)	Raffaella Reggi	Petra Langrová Radka Zrubáková	6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Runner-up	4.	May 20, 1991	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Cathy Caverzasio	Nicole Bradtke Elizabeth Smylie	1-6, 2-6
Runner-up	5.	February 9, 1993	Osaka, Japan	Carpet (I)	Magdalena Maleeva	Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland	1-6, 3-6
Winner	4.	April 5, 1993	Amelia Island, USA	Clay	Leila Meskhi	Amanda Coetzer Inés Gorrochategui	3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up	6.	April 19, 1993	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Magdalena Maleeva	Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6-4, 1-6, 0-6
Runner-up	7.	July 26, 1993	Stratton Mountain, USA	Hard	Mercedes Paz	Elizabeth Smylie Helena Suková	1-6, 2-6

ITF Singles Circuit finals: 1 (1-0)

Doubles: 1 (1-0)

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	23 September 1985	Sofia, Bulgaria	Clay	Katerina Maleeva	Yvona Brzáková Hana Fukarková	6-1, 6-2

Fed Cup

Manuela Maleeva debuted for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team in 1983. Since then she has a 21-5 singles record and a 7-10 doubles record (28-15 overall).

Singles (21-5)

Edition	Round	Date	Against	Surface	Opponent	W/L	Result
1983 World Group I	R1	17 July 1983	Switzerland	Clay	Christiane Jolissaint	L	4-6, 6-4, 4-6
	PO	19 July 1983	Zimbabwe		Angela Longo	W	6-1, 6-0
	PO	21 July 1983	Soviet Union		Olga Zaitseva	W	6-0, 6-3
1984 World Group I	R1	15 July 1984	Great Britain	Clay	Jo Durie	W	6-4, 4-6, 6-4
	R2	16 July 1984	Soviet Union		Natasha Reva	W	6-2, 6-0
	QF	18 July 1984	Yugoslavia		Mima Jaušovec	W	3-6, 6-3, 6-1
1985 World Group I	R1	6 October 1985	Soviet Union	Hard	Larisa Savchenko	W	6-7(3-7), 6-4, 6-1
	R2	8 October 1985	Yugoslavia		Sabrina Goleš	W	6-1, 6-3
	QF	10 October 1985	Great Britain		Annabel Croft	W	6-2, 6-2
	SF	12 October 1985	Czechoslovakia		Hana Mandlíková	L	6-3, 2-6, 1-6
1986 World Group I	R1	20 July 1986	Soviet Union	Clay	Larisa Savchenko	W	6-2, 6-1
	R2	21 July 1986	France		Catherine Tanvier	W	6-0, 6-1
	QF	23 July 1986	West Germany		Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	W	6-4, 6-2
1987 World Group I	R1	26 July 1987	Greece	Hard	Angelika Kanellopoulou	W	6-0, 6-0
	R2	27 July 1987	Indonesia		Yayuk Basuki	W	6-4, 6-0
	QF	29 July 1987	Australia		Elizabeth Smylie	W	6-4, 6-4
	SF	31 July 1987	United States		Chris Evert	L	2-6, 6-2, 4-6
1989 World Group I	R1	1 October 1989	South Korea	Hard	Kim Il-soon	W	6-1, 6-0
	R2	3 October 1989	Argentina		Mercedes Paz	W	4-6, 6-1, 6-3
	QF	5 October 1989	Australia		Anne Minter	L	3-6, 6-2, 4-6
↓ Representing Switzerland ↓
1991 World Group I	R1	23 July 1991	Argentina	Hard	Mercedes Paz	W	6-0, 7-6(7-5)
	R2	24 July 1991	China		Li Fang	W	6-7(5-7), 7-5, 6-2
	QF	25 July 1991	Czechoslovakia		Jana Novotná	L	4-6, 4-6
1992 World Group I	R1	14 July 1992	Sweden	Clay	Catarina Lindqvist	W	6-0, 6-2
	PO	16 July 1992	Israel		Anna Smashnova	W	6-1, 6-0
	PO	17 July 1992	Paraguay		Rossana de los Ríos	W	6-2, 6-2

Doubles (7-10)

Edition	Round	Date	Partner	Against	Surface	Opponents	W/L	Result
1983 World Group I	PO	19 July 1983	Marina Kondova	Zimbabwe	Clay	Angela Longo Lindsay Standen	W	6-4, 6-2
	PO	21 July 1983	Adriana Velcheva	Soviet Union		Svetlana Cherneva Larisa Savchenko	L	4-6, 3-6
1984 World Group I	R1	15 July 1984	Katerina Maleeva	Great Britain	Clay	Amanda Brown Anne Hobbs	W	7-6, 7-5
	R2	16 July 1984	Katerina Maleeva	Soviet Union		Elena Eliseenko Larisa Savchenko	L	7-5, 5-7, 1-6
	QF	18 July 1984	Katerina Maleeva	Yugoslavia		Sabrina Goleš Mima Jaušovec	L	3-6, 1-6
1985 World Group I	R1	6 October 1985	Katerina Maleeva	Soviet Union	Hard	Natalia Egorova Svetlana Cherneva	W	6-3, 7-5
	R2	8 October 1985	Katerina Maleeva	Yugoslavia		Sabrina Goleš Aila Winkler	W	6-4, 7-6(9-7)
	QF	10 October 1985	Katerina Maleeva	Great Britain		Jo Durie Anne Hobbs	L	4-5, Ret.
	SF	12 October 1985	Katerina Maleeva	Czechoslovakia		Hana Mandlíková Helena Suková	L	3-6, 6-7(4-7)
1986 World Group I	R1	20 July 1986	Katerina Maleeva	Soviet Union	Clay	Svetlana Cherneva Larisa Savchenko	L	6-1, 4-6, 1-6
	QF	23 July 1986	Katerina Maleeva	West Germany		Bettina Bunge Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	L	4-6, 2-6
1989 World Group I	R1	1 October 1989	Katerina Maleeva	South Korea	Hard	Kim Il-soon Lee Jeong-myung	W	7-5, 6-0
	R2	3 October 1989	Katerina Maleeva	Argentina		Florencia Labat Mercedes Paz	W	6-1, 3-6, 6-1
	QF	5 October 1989	Katerina Maleeva	Australia		Elizabeth Smylie Janine Tremelling	L	7-5, 4-6, 0-6
↓ Representing Switzerland ↓
1991 World Group I	R2	24 July 1991	Cathy Caverzasio	China	Hard	Li Fang Yi Jing-Qian	L	1-3, Ret.
	QF	25 July 1991	Cathy Caverzasio	Czechoslovakia		Jana Novotná Regina Rajchrtová	W	6-4, 2-1, Ret.
1992 World Group I	R1	14 July 1992	Michelle Strebel	Sweden	Clay	Maria Lindström Maria Strandlund	L	4-6, 7-5, 4-6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	SR	W-L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	2R	A	A	QF	NH	4R	A	A	A	2R	QF	4R	QF	0 / 7	18-6
French Open	2R	3R	4R	QF	3R	QF	3R	QF	QF	2R	3R	3R	A	0 / 12	30-12
Wimbledon	2R	2R	QF	4R	4R	2R	1R	A	1R	A	3R	2R	A	0 / 10	16-10
US Open	3R	3R	1R	4R	QF	4R	QF	QF	QF	4R	SF	SF	A	0 / 12	39-12
Win-Loss	4-4	5-3	7-3	13-4	9-3	10-4	6-3	8-2	8-3	5-3	13-3	11-4	4-1	0 / 41	103-40
Year End Ranking	60	30	6	7	10	8	6	9	9	10	9	11	N/A

• NH = tournament not held.
• 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.

Record against other top players

Maleeva's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:

• Katerina Maleeva 8-1
• Catarina Lindqvist 7-2
• Kathy Jordan 6-0
• Kathy Rinaldi 6-1
• Lori McNeil 6-2
• Claudia Kohde-Kilsch 5-2
• / Helena Suková 5-2
• Conchita Martínez 5-4
• Sylvia Hanika 4-0
• / Natasha Zvereva 4-0
• Jo Durie 4-1
• Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 4-1
• Zina Garrison 4-2
• Nathalie Tauziat 4-6
• / Karina Habšudová 3-0
• Mima Jaušovec 3-0
• Lisa Bonder 3-1
• Barbara Potter 3-2
• Andrea Temesvári 3-2
• Bonnie Gadusek 3-4
• / Hana Mandlíková 3-4
• / Martina Navratilova 3-11
• Magdalena Maleeva 2-0
• Dominique Monami 2-0
• Virginia Ruzici 2-0
• Carling Bassett-Seguso 2-1
• Kathleen Horvath 2-1
• Dianne Fromholtz 2-2
• Bettina Bunge 2-3
• Mary Joe Fernández 2-5
• Gabriela Sabatini 2-7
• Pam Shriver 2-7
• Chris Evert 2-17
• Sue Barker 1-0
• Kimiko Date-Krumm 1-0
• Julie Halard-Decugis 1-0
• Iva Majoli 1-0
• Mary Pierce 1-0
• Stephanie Rehe 1-0
• Barbara Paulus 1-1
• / Jana Novotná 1-2
• Wendy Turnbull 1-2
• Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1-5
• Tracy Austin 0-1
• Jennifer Capriati 0-1
• Evonne Goolagong Cawley 0-1
• Anke Huber 0-2
• // Monica Seles 0-9
• Steffi Graf 0-17

[ Source: Wikipedia ]