Lia Karatancheva
Bulgarian tennis player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lia Radoslavova Karatancheva (Bulgarian: Лиа Радославова Каратанчева; born 8 September 2003) is a Bulgarian tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of No. 263, achieved on 28 July 2025. She also has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of No. 155, achieved on 16 March 2026.[1]
| Country (sports) |  Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Residence | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Born | 8 September 2003 Sofia |
| Turned pro | 2017 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $145,434 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 199–194 |
| Career titles | 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 263 (28 July 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 472 (29 June 2026) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 112–105 |
| Career titles | 8 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 155 (16 March 2026) |
| Current ranking | No. 189 (29 June 2026) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 13–7 |
| Last updated on: 4 July 2026. | |
Karatancheva has won one singles title and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour. She participated in the Bulgaria BJK Cup team for the first time in 2023.[2] Playing for Bulgaria, Karatancheva has a win–loss record of 13–7.[3]
Career
In March 2024, Karatancheva reached the doubles final in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[4]
Karatancheva made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2026 Copa Colsanitas defeating Miriana Tona in the last round of qualifying.[5] She lost to Varvara Lepchenko in the first round.[6]
Personal life
She is the daughter of former rower and member of parliament as part of the Bulgarian Business Bloc, Radoslav Karatantchev.[7][8] Her mother Zhivka Angelova is journalist.[citation needed]
Lia has three sisters, one of whom, Gabriel Karatantcheva, was a professional tennis player from 2014 to 2017.[9] Her older sister, Sesil, and younger sister, Alexa, are also tennis players.
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 2024 | Open Castilla y León, Spain | W35 | Hard |  Yasmine Mansouri |
2–6, 7–6(5), 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Sep 2024 | Ladies Open Vienna, Austria | W75 | Clay |  Tena Lukas |
4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | May 2025 | ITF Indian Harbour Beach, United States |
W50 | Clay |  Arina Rodionova |
6–2, 6–7(6), 6–3 |
Doubles: 18 (8 titles, 10 runner-ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2022 | ITF Heraklion, Greece | W25 | Clay |  Oana Gavrilă |
 Lina Gjorcheska  Dea Herdzelas |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jan 2024 | ITF Naples, United States | W35 | Clay |  Isabelle Haverlag |
 Elvina Kalieva  Maria Kozyreva |
0–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Mar 2024 | ITF Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
W35 | Hard | Rasheeda McAdoo |
Carmen Corley Ivana Corley |
1–6, 7–6(5), [10–12] |
| Win | 2–2 | Apr 2024 | ITF Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy | W35 | Clay |  Eleni Christofi |
 Eleonora Alvisi Federica Urgesi |
6–0, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–3 | May 2024 | ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia | W35 | Clay |  Michaela Bayerlová |
Ksenia Laskutova  Radka Zelníčková |
7–5, 6–7(3), [9–11] |
| Loss | 2–4 | Jun 2024 | Open Araba en Femenino, Spain | W100 | Hard |  Diāna Marcinkēviča |
Estelle Cascino  Alex Eala |
3–6, 6–2, [4–10] |
| Win | 3–4 | Jul 2024 | Open Castilla y León, Spain | W35 | Hard | Radka Zelníčková |
Alexandra Osborne Anna Rogers |
2–6, 6–3, [10–3] |
| Loss | 3–5 | Aug 2024 | Zagreb Open, Croatia | W50 | Clay | Sapfo Sakellaridi |
 Živa Falkner  Amarissa Tóth |
4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3–6 | Sep 2024 | Pazardzhik Cup, Bulgaria | W75 | Clay | Sapfo Sakellaridi |
Veronika Erjavec Anita Wagner |
5–7, 6–3, [5–10] |
| Loss | 3–7 | Sep 2024 | ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia | W75 | Clay | Cristina Dinu |
Amina Anshba  Noma Noha Akugue |
2–6, 6–7(2) |
| Loss | 3–8 | Oct 2024 | ITF Faro, Portugal | W35 | Hard | Diāna Marcinkēviča |
 Weronika Falkowska Stéphanie Visscher |
4–6, 6–2, [5–10] |
| Win | 4–8 | Mar 2025 | ITF Antalya, Turkiye | W35 | Clay | Makenna Jones |
Ilinca Amariei Cristina Dinu |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–8 | Apr 2025 | ITF Calvi, France | W75 | Hard |  Lisa Zaar |
 Riya Bhatia  Sada Nahimana |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5–9 | Jun 2025 | Macha Lake Open, Czech Republic | W75 | Clay | Aneta Kučmová |
Alena Kovačková Ivana Šebestová |
6–1, 5–7, [5–10] |
| Win | 6–9 | Sep 2025 | Pazardzhik Cup, Bulgaria | W50+H | Clay | Sapfo Sakellaridi |
Yara Bartashevich Alevtina Ibragimova |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 7–9 | Sep 2025 | Pazardzhik Cup 2, Bulgaria | W50+H | Clay | Sapfo Sakellaridi |
Elena Ruxandra Bertea Daria Lodikova |
6–7(5), 6–4, [10–5] |
| Win | 8–9 | Feb 2026 | ITF Orlando, United States | W50 | Hard |  Anita Sahdiieva |
 Thaísa Grana Pedretti  Noelia Zeballos |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8–10 | May 2026 | Bonita Springs Championship, US | W100 | Clay | Anna Rogers |
 Mell Reasco Darja Vidmanova |
5–7, 3–6 |
National representation
Billie Jean King Cup
Karatancheva debuted in Bulgaria Billie Jean King Cup team in 2023; since then she has accumulated a win–loss record of 8–3 in singles and 5–5 in doubles (13–8 overall).
Singles (8–3)
| Edition | Round | Date | Location | Against | Surface | Opponent | W/L | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Z1 RR | 11 Apr 2023 | Antalya (TUR) | Croatia |
Clay | Petra Marčinko | W | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 12 Apr 2023 | Sweden |
Kajsa Rinaldo Persson | W | 7–6(13–11), 7–6(7–4) | ||||
| 13 Apr 2023 |  Norway |
Ulrikke Eikeri | W | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 | ||||
| 14 Apr 2023 |  Denmark |
Rebecca Munk Mortensen | W | 6–0, 6–0 | ||||
| 2024 | Z1 RR | 9 Apr 2024 | Antalya (TUR) | Denmark |
Clay | Johanne Svendsen | L | 2–6, 2–6 |
| 10 Apr 2024 |  Austria |
Tamira Paszek | L | 5–7, 2–6 | ||||
| Z1 PO | 13 Apr 2024 |  Portugal |
Angelina Voloshchuk | W | 6–1, 6–3 | |||
| 2025 | Z2 RR | 8 Apr 2025 | Larnaca (CYP) |  Israel |
Hard | Lina Glushko | W | 1–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3) |
| 9 Apr 2025 |  Egypt |
Sandra Samir | W | 6–4, 6–3 | ||||
| Z2 PO | 10 Apr 2025 | Norway |
Malene Helgø | W | 6–4, 6–2 | |||
| 11 Apr 2025 |  Georgia |
Mariam Bolkvadze | L | 7–5, 6–7(7–9), 2–6 |
Doubles (5–5)
| Edition | Round | Date | Location | Partner | Surface | Against | Opponents | W/L | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Z1 RR | 10 Apr 2023 | Antalya (TUR) | Gergana Topalova | Clay |  Serbia |
Katarina Kozarov Lola Radivojević |
W | 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 13 Apr 2023 | Gergana Topalova | Norway |
Ulrikke Eikeri Malene Helgø |
L | 6–2, 1–6, 4–6 | ||||
| 14 Apr 2023 | Gergana Topalova | Denmark |
Rebecca Munk Mortensen Johanne Svendsen |
W | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 | ||||
| 2024 | Z1 RR | 8 Apr 2024 | Oeiras (POR) | Isabella Shinikova | Clay | Hungary |
Adrienn Nagy Natália Szabanin |
L | 4–6, 3–6 |
| 9 Apr 2024 | Isabella Shinikova | Denmark |
Laura Brunkel Rebecca Munk Mortensen |
W | 6–4, 6–4 | ||||
| 10 Apr 2024 | Gergana Topalova | Austria |
Melanie Klaffner Tamira Paszek |
W | 6–7(5–7), 6–1, [10–6] | ||||
| Z1 PO | 12 Apr 2024 | Gergana Topalova | Norway |
Emily Sartz-Lunde Carina Syrtveit |
W | 7–6(7–3), 7–5 | |||
| 13 Apr 2024 | Isabella Shinikova | Portugal |
Francisca Jorge Matilde Jorge |
L | 3–6, 6–4, [2–10] | ||||
| 2025 | Z2 RR | 9 Apr 2025 | Larnaca (CYP) | Isabella Shinikova | Hard | Egypt |
Gana Hossam Salah Amira Mohamed Badwy |
L | 1–1, ret. |
| Z2 PO | 10 Apr 2025 | Isabella Shinikova | Norway |
Malene Helgø Ulrikke Eikeri |
L | 5–7, 5–7 |