Starting at 12 noon, the semifinals will be played on two courts at the YONEX German Open in the Westenergie Sports Hall, with a total of 10 matches. Six matches will be between Asian and European players, and four will be between Asian athletes. In any case, fans in the Westenergie Sports Hall can look forward to world-class badminton.
After sisters Gabriela and Stefanie Stoeva (BUL) lost in the quarterfinals, Christo Popov (FRA) in the men’s singles and Wang Zhi Yi (CHN) in the women’s singles are the only top seeds remaining in the competition.
All times are estimates and depend on the duration of the preceding matches. The complete schedule and all results are available from the Badminton World Federation (BWF), where further information on all players can be found.
“Match of the Day”
Saturday, February 28, 2026
presented by
Men’s Singles, TV Court 1, 4:10 p.m.
Toma Junior Popov (FRA, seed 6, WR 17, prize money: $244,459, age 27)
vs. Chi Yu Jen (TPE, seed 8, WR 20, prize money: $112,035, age 28)
Toma was European runner-up in singles in 2024 and 2025, European team champion with France in 2026, runner-up at the HYLO Open and Spain Masters in 2024, and third at the YONEX German Open in 2025.
This year, Chi Yu Jen came third at the Indonesia Masters. With the Malaysia Super 100 in 2024 and the India International in 2023, he has two tournament victories to his name in the last three years. In 2024, he came second at the Taipei Open and third at the Orleans Masters.
Other particularly interesting matches on Saturday
Men’s Singles, TV Court 1, 5:50 p.m.
Christo Popov (FRA, seed 1, WR 5, prize money $536,159, age 23)
vs. Lin Chun-Yi (TPE, WR 11, prize money $338,198, age 26)
In their four previous matches against each other, each player has won twice.
Christo Popov is currently enjoying a string of successes – on December 21, he became the first Frenchman to win the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, in which only the best players on the World Tour compete. In Hangzhou, China, he defeated Shi Yu Qi (CHN) 21-19, 21-9 in the final. Second at the French and Swiss Opens, third at the European Championships, the China Masters, in Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong – 2025 was a great year for Christo. With the European Championship title for the French men’s team in Istanbul, 2026 has also gotten off to a good start.
Lin Chun-Yi also got off to a brilliant start to 2026 with a victory at the India Open. Last year, he stood on the podium five times: second place at the China Masters and the Masters, and third place in Australia, Singapore, and Switzerland.
Women’s singles, TV Court 1, 12:50 p.m.
Wang Zhi Yi (CHN, seed 1, WR 2, prize money $1,264,829, age 25)
vs. Tomoka Miyazaki (JPN, WR 9, prize money $261,500, age 19)
In two previous matches against each other, each player has won once.
Wang Zhi Yi plays in a discipline in which the world number one, An Se Young, is currently dominating, and so Wang was again left with second place in India in January. In 2025, Wang won in Hong Kong, at the Malaysia Masters and the China Open. Wang reached the finals at the World Tour Finals, the All England and French Open, as well as in Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Denmark.
Tomoka Miyazaki won the Taipei Open in 2025, finished third in Thailand and India, and reached the quarterfinals at the All England, French Open, Denmark Open, Korea Open, Hong Kong Open, Orleans Masters, and Indonesia Masters.
Men’s Doubles, TV Court 1, 5:00 p.m.
Julien Maio/William Villeger (FRA, WR 89, prize money USD 5,376, ages 31/25)
vs. Chiu Hsiang Chieh/Wang Chi-Lin (TPE, WR 11, prize money USD 73,240, ages 23/31)
William Villeger and Julien Maio thrilled fans in the quarterfinals with a spectacular match and unbridled celebrations of their success. The French pair won twice in three sets during the tournament, knocking top seeds Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yuk (MAS) out of the tournament in the round of 16 with a score of 21-15, 24-22. Julien and William finished third at the Dutch Open in 2025 and won bronze at the European Championships in Denmark.
Chiu Hsiang Chieh/Wang Chi-Lin won the HYLO Open and the Taipei Open in 2025 and finished third at the Japan Masters.