TENNIS PLAYERS from Bulgaria

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Bulgarian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Bulgarian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Grigor Dimitrov (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 48.88, Grigor Dimitrov is the most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Григор Димитров Димитров, pronounced [ɡriˈɡɔr dimiˈtrɔf]; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the ATP, making him the highest-ranked Bulgarian player in history. Dimitrov reached the ranking after winning the biggest title of his career at the season-ending ATP Finals in November 2017. He has won nine ATP Tour singles titles to date. Prior to his professional career, Dimitrov enjoyed a successful junior career, in which he reached the world No. 1 ranking and won consecutive major boys' singles titles at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and the 2008 US Open. In October 2013 at the Stockholm Open, Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian man to win an ATP Tour singles title. As of 2024, he is the male player with the longest active streak of consecutive Grand Slam appearances, at 55. Dimitrov is the first (and only) Bulgarian male tennis player to reach a final in doubles (in 2011), and to reach the fourth round or better at a major in singles. Dimitrov is the first Bulgarian to qualify for the ATP Finals, which he won in 2017, and to win a Masters title the same year in Cincinnati. Dimitrov has also won more prize money than any other Bulgarian tennis player, being the only male Bulgarian player to reach US$1m and in November 2023 became the 19th male tennis player ever to win $25m. With reaching the 2024 Miami Open final he also became the first Bulgarian to complete the full career set of quarterfinal showings at all nine active Masters events and the ninth active man to accomplish this feat after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Gaël Monfils, Marin Čilić, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. With reaching the 2024 French Open quarterfinals, Dimitrov became the second player born in the 1990s, after Daniil Medvedev, to complete the career set of both Grand Slam and Masters 1000 quarterfinals and the sixth active player overall to accomplish the feat (after Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Čilić and Medvedev). He won the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year award in 2014 and 2017, the first and second time a tennis player has won the award since its creation in 1958, and the Balkan Athlete of the Year award in 2017. In December 2024, he was also selected the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

2. Manuela Maleeva (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 45.58, Manuela Maleeva is the 2nd most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

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.

3. Magdalena Maleeva (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 40.35, Magdalena Maleeva is the 3rd most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

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

4. Katerina Maleeva (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 39.68, Katerina Maleeva is the 4th most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Katerina Georgieva Maleeva (Bulgarian: Катерина Георгиева Малеева; born 7 May 1969) is a former top 10 Bulgarian tennis player. She won eleven singles and two doubles WTA Tour titles. Her best position in the WTA rankings was No. 6 in 1990.

5. Elena Pampoulova (1972 - 2023)

With an HPI of 38.52, Elena Pampoulova is the 5th most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Elena Pampoulova (also Elena Wagner, Elena Pampoulova-Bergomi, Bulgarian: Елена Пампулова, 17 May 1972 – 19 April 2023) was a Bulgarian tennis player. In her career, she won one singles title and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Her tennis career spanned from 1988 to 2001. Pampoulova's career-high singles ranking is world No. 62, her best doubles ranking is No. 38, both achieved in September 1996.

6. Tsvetana Pironkova (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 36.79, Tsvetana Pironkova is the 6th most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova (Bulgarian: Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова [tsvɛˈtanɐ piroŋˈkɔvɐ]; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian former tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted for her "cerebral" skills on the surface, reaching the semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships. Pironkova also found success playing on the quick hardcourts throughout her career, winning a title in Sydney and reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open. Pironkova started playing tennis at the age of four on being introduced to the sport by her father. She made her WTA Tour debut at the İstanbul Cup in 2005, and achieved moderate success early in her career. That changed in 2010, when she entered Wimbledon with a 1–4 career record at the event, and went on reach the semifinals of the tournament, becoming first Bulgarian tennis player in history to reach the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam in singles. She garnered wide recognition for her performance, and after her semifinal finish reached her highest singles ranking at No. 31 in September 2010. Pironkova followed it up with a quarterfinal run at the event the following year. Pironkova won her first title on WTA Tour at the 2014 Sydney International, defeating three top-10 ranked players in a row. She defeated then world No. 2, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the fourth round of the 2016 French Open, reaching her first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam tournament other than Wimbledon. Following an injury in 2017, Pironkova announced a sabbatical from the sport - which was later extended to accommodate her maternity leave. Playing at her first professional tournament in over three years, she made a successful return at the 2020 US Open; she made it all the way to the quarterfinals, her first at a Grand Slam championship since 2016. Her performances in 2020 earned her the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year Award and a nomination for the WTA Comeback Player of the Year. Pironkova has a total of twelve wins over top-10 ranked players and, at a point of time, held one of the longest streak of consecutive Grand Slam appearances at 47. Ahead of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, she launched her own women's clothing and lifestyle brand, Pironetic.

7. Sesil Karatantcheva (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 32.99, Sesil Karatantcheva is the 7th most famous Bulgarian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Sesil Radoslavova Karatantcheva (Bulgarian: Сесил Радославова Каратанчева; born 8 August 1989) is a Bulgarian tennis player. On 7 November 2005, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 35. On 19 April 2010, she peaked at No. 154 in the doubles rankings. In her career, she won nine singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Karatantcheva is perhaps best known for reaching the quarterfinals of the 2005 French Open, upsetting seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams en route.