Vasko Mladenov (Bulgarian: Васко Младенов, born 30 July 1989) is a former pro tennis player and an active padel player[1] from Bulgaria.
He is a three time Bulgarian National champion, once in doubles (2014) and two times in singles (2016, 2017). Mladenov also holds the record for the most professional international doubles titles in Bulgarian tennis history (18 ITF titles)
Mladenov also played for two years at the number 1 position at St. John's University (New York) in ITA Division 1. During his stay in New York he won the North Regional Championship (2011).
He participated in the Davis Cup in doubles in March 2016 against Turkey, bringing Bulgaria a historic win 7:6, 6:7, 6:7, 7:6, 6:4 alongside fellow Bulgarian Alexander Lazov.[2]
Mladenov also took part in the Davis Cup tie against Tunisia in August 2016, where he won his singles match against Moez Echargui in a thrilling 6:7, 7:5, 7:6 match. He also took part in the Davis Cup group 3 tie against Iceland, Macedonia, Albania and finally Bulgaria faced Monaco in the deciding playoff to promote to group 2, unfortunately Bulgaria lost the tie. He made his debut at an ATP tournament in 2018, playing in his native Bulgaria the ATP Sofia Open.
At 2013 US Open, he was working with Novak Djokovic as his sparring partner.[3]
Early and personal life
Vasko was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, as the only child of Vasil, who is from Bulgaria and, Elena, who is from Russia. When he was five he began to play with his grandfather, Lev Shulga, who is a well known coach from the former U.S.S.R. Vasko speaks fluent Bulgarian, Russian and English. He is known for his aggressive and all-court style of play. Mladenov has a right-handed forehand and double-handed backhand. His favourite surface is hard. His hobbies are listening to music, playing the piano, playing snooker, billiards and playing football.
The Bachelorette Ukraine
In 2021, as a public figure, Mladenov took part in the second season of the Ukrainian version of “The Bachelorette” («Холостячка»), a famous romantic TV reality show, which ended up being the most watched TV show in Ukraine that year.
After the TV show, Vasko gained a large amount of fans in Ukraine.
Junior career
He won three tournaments as a junior. The first one was in 2005, he defeated Plamen Avramov in Plovdiv in straight sets, final score was 6–0, 6–1. The second one also was in 2005, in Timișoara, he defeated Maksim Bakunin in three sets, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(4). The third and final one was in 2006, in Kyiv, he won the tournament after beating Uladzimir Ignatik in three sets, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1. All these tournaments were played on clay court. In 2007, in France, he played the European Junior. Bulgaria was represented by Vasko, Valentin Dimov and Aleksandar Lazov, they were runners-up.
Vasko Mladenov playing a point during the European Games in Krakow 2023.
Padel career
After finishing his professional tennis career in 2020, Vasko moved on to padel. Alongside his partner Kiril Dimitrov (BUL) he achieved a total of 5 international tournament titles between 2021 and 2023.
In 2022, Mladenov and Dimitrov took part in the Padel World Cup qualifications, there they managed to deliver the first ever padel victory (against Norway) in the history of Bulgarian padel.
Mladenov and Dimitrov are currently known as the best padel team in Bulgaria.
Music career
In 2009 Mladenov starred a career in music as a rap/hip-hop performer as “Vasko”. The majority of his songs are in Russian, however, Vasko has released 5 songs in Bulgarian over the years. So far he has released 4 albums: «Сердце Солдата» (2010), «Дороги» (2012), «VNY3» (2014) and «Отражения» (2022).[4][5][6][7][8]
Vasko Mladenov debuted for the Bulgaria Davis Cup team in 2016 against Turkey in Ankara. Since then he has a 1–0 singles record and a 4–2 doubles record (5–2 overall). He participated in Davis Cup in doubles in March 2016 against Turkey, bringing Bulgaria a historic win 7:6, 6:7, 6:7, 7:6, 6:4 alongside fellow Bulgarian Alexander Lazov.
Mladenov also took part in the Davis Cup tie against Tunisia in August 2016, where he won his singles match against Moez Echargui in a thrilling 6:7, 7:5, 7:6 match. He also took part in the Davis Cup group 3 tie against Iceland, Macedonia, Albania and finally Bulgaria faced Monaco in the deciding playoff to promote to group 2, unfortunately Bulgaria lost the tie.
