Enthusiastic fans in a packed hall, world-class performances in all disciplines, a record for France, a brotherly duel in the men’s singles final, and an attractive supporting program: At the YONEX German Open Badminton Championships 2026 in Mülheim an der Ruhr (February 24 to March 1 at the Westenergie Sports Hall), the day of the semi-finals (Saturday, February 28, 2026) was as varied as it was emotional.
“It’s not every day that brothers stand together on the winner’s podium. I hope we can enjoy the game and that the fans will see a good match,” said Christo Popov after following his older brother into the final of the $250,000 HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament. Julien Maio/William Villeger also made it to the final in the men’s doubles – a record for France: in the German International Badminton Championships, introduced in 1955, four French players had never before competed on the last day of the event. China led the way in terms of finalists at the 2026 YONEX German Open with six entries. The Danish mixed doubles pair Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch also made it to the final.
The tournament begins on Sunday (March 1, 2026) at 12:00 p.m. The final matches will be played in the following order: mixed doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, men’s singles.
Men’s singles: Christo Popov vs. Toma Junior Popov
In the men’s singles, Toma Junior Popov (world ranking 17; seed 6) was the first to secure his place in the final. In the “Match of the Day” on the fifth day of the event, the reigning European vice-champion recorded a 21:19, 21:15 victory over Chi Yu Jen from Taiwan (world ranking 20; seed 8). “I’m very happy – especially that I won in two sets. That meant I was able to save a lot of energy today,” said the 27-year-old after his match against Chi Yu Jen. Toma Junior Popov, who played a key role in France’s victory at the European Men’s and Women’s Team Championships in mid-February, added: “We both tried to play the same game. I think the key to success was playing at the net. The longer the match went on, the better I played.”
In the final match of the semifinal day, Christo Popov, seeded number one, defeated Lin Chun-Yi from Taiwan (world ranking 11; seeded 4) 21-10, 18-21, 21-18, reaching the final of the YONEX German Open for the second time after 2024. “I’m tired and happy at the same time. Only small details decided the victory. It’s fantastic that I’m now playing against my brother,” said the 23-year-old title holder from two years ago after his semifinal match. The current world number five also explained: “In the first set, I played good, long balls. In the second set, he managed to pick up the pace and improve the quality of his shots. In the third set, it was again a 50-50 match. I’m glad I was able to build up a lead in between. I was also in good physical shape.”
To date, the brothers have played each other three times in international tournaments, with Christo Popov winning twice and Toma Junior Popov winning once. The two have also played each other in a final: at the HYLO Open 2024 in Saarbrücken, Christo Popov prevailed in two sets.
Women’s singles: Final with two Chinese players
In the women’s competition, it is also already clear which country will take the title this year: The final will see top seed and world number two Wang Zhi Yi face Han Qian Xi – both from China. Han Qian Xi is currently ranked 37th by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and could triumph as an unseeded player at the Westenergie Sporthalle. While Wang Zhi Yi won her semifinal match against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki (world number 9; seeded 4th) 21-10, 21-18, Han Qian Xi did not have to play a semifinal match: her opponent and national team colleague, world number 5 Han Yue (also China), seeded second, was unable to compete on Saturday due to injury.
Men’s doubles: Qualifiers in the final
In the men’s doubles, the title at the 67th International Badminton Championships of Germany could also go to China: Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi, ranked sixth in the world, won their semifinal match against their compatriots Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, seeded second (also China; world number three) 21-15, 21-12 and will now face Julien Maio/William Villeger in Sunday’s final. However, the French pair pulled off one of the biggest surprises at this year’s YONEX German Open. “It’s been a crazy week. We started in the qualifiers and now we’re playing in the final tomorrow. We’ve given our best every day and we’re excited to have a chance to win against the best in the world,” said Julien Maio, beaming. His doubles partner William Villeger said: “This is fantastic, this is our week! We played very well in every match.” In the round of the best four pairs, the world number 89 took just 36 minutes to defeat two-time Olympic champion Wang Chi-Lin from Taiwan (2021 and 2024 with his compatriot Lee Yang) and his doubles partner Chiu Hsiang Chieh (also Taiwan; world number 11; seed number 5) 21-17, 21:18. For Julien Maio/William Villeger, this also meant reaching the final of the HSBC BWF World Tour for the first time. In the round of 16, the French pair had already knocked the top-seeded men’s doubles Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik from Malaysia (world number 2) out of the tournament.
Women’s doubles: another duel between compatriots
The Chinese pair Li Yi Jing/Wang Yi Duo (not ranked in the world rankings), on the other hand, had to work for 86 minutes on the badminton court to win their semi-final match against Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Indonesia; world ranking 90) 21:18, 8:21, 21:19. “We lost energy in the second set. At the same time, our opponents changed their tactics. But we kept our confidence and always believed we could win. In the third set, we tried to get the points step by step,” Li Yi Jing/Wang Yi Duo summarized the match. The duo’s primary goal for Sunday was to “enjoy the game.” In the final, Wang Yi Duo, who reached the semifinals at the 2025 YONEX German Open with her national team colleague Li Wen Mei, and Li Yi Jing will face their eighth-seeded compatriots Bao Li Jing/Luo Xu Min (also China; unranked). The newly formed pair prevailed in the women’s doubles quarterfinals against Hsu Ya Ching/Sung Yu-Hsuan from Taiwan (world ranking 15; seeded 3).
Mixed doubles: Denmark vs. China
The mixed doubles final will be contested by the eighth-seeded Danish pair Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch (world ranking 22) and the seventh-seeded Chinese pair Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi (world ranking 16). Both pairs recorded clear victories in the semifinals: In the first match of the penultimate day of the event, Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi prevailed over Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang from Taiwan (ranked 31st in the world) 22-20, 21-10. Shortly afterwards, Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch advanced to the final with a 21-19, 21:16 victory over Hee Yong Kai Terry/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Singapore/Indonesia; world ranking 190) to advance to the final. Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja had reached the final in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 2025 alongside her compatriot Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto.
Attractive supporting program
On the day of the semi-finals, visitors were treated not only to top-class sport, but also to an attractive supporting program. The Big Band of the Luisenschule Gymnasium in Mülheim an der Ruhr welcomed the audience with live music, and Markus Püll, the mayor of Mülheim an der Ruhr, expressed his special thanks to the approximately 180 volunteers from the organizing club, 1. BV Mülheim for their commitment, the synthetic shuttlecock “CROSSWIND 70” from YONEX was presented during a show match, and badminton fans of all ages had the opportunity to prove their skills on a professional badminton court in a duel with German national players.
Photo of Christo Popov: Claudia Pauli