Bulgarian Female Sportspersons

Tsvetana Pironkova became the first Bulgarian tennis player to reach semi-final of a Grand Slam in singles after defeating five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams at 2010 Wimbledon Championships. Following this Pironkova attained her highest singles ranking of No. 31 in September that year. She bagged a title in Sydney and in 2020 won the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year Award.

Stefka Kostadinova is a Bulgarian former athlete whose world record of 2.09 metres in high jump has stood since 1987. One of the most respected athletes from Bulgaria, Kostadinova has won an Olympic gold medal, two gold medals in World Championships, five gold medals in World Indoor Championships, and four gold medals in European Indoor Championships.

Retired professional-boxer Daisy Lang became the first Bulgarian woman to win a world title. Her accomplishments as professional boxer include becoming three division world champion. She held the WIBF titles for super-flyweight, bantamweight, and super-bantamweight between 1999 and 2004. Prior to her boxing career, Lang also became European Taekwondo Champion, World Karate Champion, World Kickboxing Champion and European Kickboxing Champion.

Five-time Olympian Bulgarian athlete Ivet Lalova-Collio is a master of the 100m and 200m sprint. She has been a European Champion and has won gold medals at the European Junior and Indoor Championships. He career almost ended after colliding with a fellow athlete during a warm-up session and breaking her right femur.

Professional Bulgarian tennis player Viktoriya Tomova has so far earned 16 ITF titles in singles and12 ITF titles in doubles. Her current WTA singles-ranking of No. 101 attained on July 11, 2022 is her best WTA singles-ranking, while she attained her career-high WTA doubles-ranking of No. 254 in August 2014. Tomova plays for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team as well.

Retired Bulgarian tennis player Magdalena Maleeva has had a career-high ranking of 4 in singles and 13 in doubles. She is also a 2-time Olympian and has won 10 singles titles throughout her illustrious career. She is one of the three Maleeva sisters, the daughters of former tennis player Yuliya Berberyan.

While she initially represented Bulgaria, former world number 3 tennis star Manuela Maleeva began playing for Switzerland after her marriage to Swiss tennis coach François Fragnière. Politically vocal, the Olympic bronze medalist co-established the party Yes, Bulgaria! She also owns a foundation that helps disabled children.

Bulgarian chess grandmaster Antoaneta Stefanova was Women's World Champion from 2004 to 2006. She has represented Bulgaria in Women's Chess Olympiad since 1992 and in Chess Olympiad in 2000. Her achievements include winning Bulgarian women's championship in 1995 and 3rd European Individual Women's Championship in June 2002. She became an MP for There Is Such A People party in 2021.

Yordanka Donkova was 5 when she lost 3 fingers on her right hand in an accident, but that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the best Bulgarian hurdling athletes. She not just won a World Indoor Championship silver but is also an Olympic gold and bronze medalist.

Once world number 35 in singles, Bulgarian tennis sensation Sesil Karatantcheva is best known for beating tennis legend Venus Williams and reaching the 2005 French Open quarterfinals. From 2009 to 2014, she represented Kazakhstan internationally. She is the daughter of former MP and rower Radoslav Karatantchev.

Bulgarian rhythmic-gymnast Maria Petrova became World all-around champion thrice and European all-around champion thrice and shares world record, with three others, for most individual world all-around rhythmic gymnastics titles. Achievements of this ace rhythmic-gymnast also include winning gold medals at World Championships in ball, hoop, ribbon and with team in 1993; in hoop in 1994; and in clubs in 1995.

Bulgarian badminton player Gabriela Stoeva, who specializes in doubles, won 2013 European Junior Badminton Championships with her younger sister, Stefani Stoeva. The pair has thereafter achieved several feats in doubles including becoming European Badminton Champion thrice (2018, 2021, 2022) and winning European Games in 2015. The two sisters also teamed-up and competed at the Summer Olympics in 2016 and 2020.

Bulgarian badminton player Stefani Stoeva won girls’ singles as well as doubles title, with older sister Gabriela Stoeva, at 2013 European Junior Badminton Championships. The pair has thereafter achieved several feats in doubles including becoming European Badminton Champion thrice (2018, 2021, 2022) and winning European Games in 2015. They also teamed-up and competed at Summer Olympics in 2016 and 2020.

Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast Boryana Kaleyn, who began her journey with gymnastics at age 6, is not just an Olympian but has also won 3 European Championship gold medals. She is also a World Championship silver medalist and has won the Bulgarian National Championship 4 times.

Retired Bulgarian tennis player Katerina Maleeva is a former world number 6 in singles and number 24 in doubles. She is one of the 3 Maleeva sisters of world tennis, the daughters of tennis star Yuliya Berberyan, the other 2 being Manuela and Magdalena.

Retired Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast Katrin Taseva was an Olympian and a World and European Championships silver winner. She also won medals at the Grand Prix Final and the European Games. She retired through an Instagram announcement soon after her 2020 Tokyo Olympic performance.

Born to a Bulgarian mother and a Nigerian father in Greece, handball player Elizabeth Omoregie initially represented the Bulgarian national team but later switched to the Slovenian national team. She is a 2-time Romanian Cup winner and a 4-time Slovenian Cup winner and now plays for CSM București.