For the athletes from France, things couldn’t have gone better on the day of the quarterfinals (Friday, February 27, 2026) at the YONEX German Open Badminton Championships 2026 in Mülheim an der Ruhr (February 24 to March 1 at the Westenergie Sporthalle): First, reigning European vice-champion Toma Junior Popov advanced to the semifinals of the men’s singles competition after a grueling three-set match against Japan’s Minoru Koga (world ranking 63). Shortly thereafter, his younger brother Christo Popov followed him into the round of the best four players by defeating the 2023 tournament winner, Ng Ka Long Angus from Hong Kong (world ranking 31) in two close sets. Late in the evening, the French men’s doubles team Julien Maio/William Villeger celebrated a narrow three-set victory over Fang-Chih Lee/Fang-Jen Lee from Taiwan (world ranking 23).
Men’s singles: France vs. Taiwan twice
“I’m very relieved, those were two tough sets. I knew it was going to be a tough match, and in the end I could feel every rally in my legs. So I’m very happy that I won in two sets. The atmosphere was great! It’s fantastic that we’re both in the semifinals, of course. My brother and I will now recover as best we can,” said 23-year-old Christo Popov after his quarterfinal match. The current world number five was competing in the HSBC tournament for the first time in 2024. “I’m happy and relieved. We pushed each other to the limit. It’s great to play here,” said Toma Junior Popov after his match against Minoru Koga.
While top seed Christo Popov will face Lin Chun-Yi from Taiwan (world ranking 11; seed 4) in the round of the best four men on Saturday (February 28, 2026), Toma Junior Popov (world ranking 17; seed 6) will play against his national team colleague Chi Yu Jen (also Taiwan; world ranking 20; seed 8) in the lower half of the field for a place in the final.
Women’s singles: three Chinese players in the semifinals
World number two Wang Zhi Yi also kept her chances alive on Friday to win the title in Mülheim an der Ruhr as the number one seed: the Chinese player will face Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki (world number 9; seeded 4th) in the semifinals of the women’s singles competition. In the other semifinal match, two players from China will face each other: Han Yue, ranked second and fifth in the world, will take on Han Qian Xi, who is currently ranked 37th by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Men’s doubles: another match between compatriots
The French pair Julien Maio/William Villeger (world ranking 89) knocked the top-seeded men’s doubles Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik from Malaysia (world ranking 2) out of the tournament in the round of 16 and will face Chiu Hsiang Chieh/Wang Chi-Lin (Taiwan; world ranking 11; seed 5) in the semifinals. The other semifinal match—a clash between compatriots—will be contested by Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi (China; world ranking 12; seeded 6) and Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (also China; world ranking 3; seeded 2).
Women’s doubles: Asian players dominate
In the women’s competition, the round of the best four pairs will see a duel between Bao Li Jing/Luo Xu Min (China; no world ranking; seeded 8th) and Hsu Ya Ching/Sung Yu-Hsuan (Taiwan; world ranking 15; seeded 3rd), as well as a clash between Li Yi Jing/Wang Yi Duo (China; no world ranking) and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Indonesia; world ranking 90).
Mixed doubles: three Asian pairs, one European pair
In the mixed doubles semifinals, Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi (China; world ranking 16; seeded 7) will face Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang (Taiwan; world ranking 31), while Hee Yong Kai Terry/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Singapore/Indonesia; world ranking 190) and the eighth-seeded Danes Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch (world ranking 22) will face each other in the semifinals. “This is our first time in the semifinals and we are happy with the level we are playing here. All of our matches so far have been clear-cut, so we were able to save a lot of energy for tomorrow,” said Mads Vestergaard after the victory in the quarterfinals.
Stoeva sisters eliminated
On Friday, however, the reigning World Championship bronze medalists in men’s doubles from Denmark, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (world ranking 10; seeded 4), the four-time European champions in women’s doubles from Bulgaria, Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva (world ranking 10; seeded 1), and the number three seeds in the mixed doubles, Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet (Hong Kong), ranked seventh in the world, who won the tournament together in 2024.