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| Born | 8 March 2002 Sofia, Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Badminton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Left | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles & doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 7 (MS, 28 October 2025) 16 (MD with Toma Junior Popov, 29 July 2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 7 (MS) 22 (MD with Toma Junior Popov) (20 January 2026) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Christo Popov (born 8 March 2002) is a French badminton player who affiliate with Fos club. He won the men's doubles gold at the 2025 European Championships with his brother Toma Junior Popov.[1] He also won a silver in the men's singles and a bronze in the men's doubles at the 2023 European Games.[2][3] He became the first Frenchman to reach the semi-finals of the All England Open.[4]
Christo Popov was the boys' doubles European U15 and U17 Junior Champions, also won the boys' singles silver medals at the 2018 European and 2019 World Junior Championships.[5] He reached a career high as boys' singles World Junior number 1 in January 2020.[6] He then clinched the boys' singles title at the 2020 European Junior Championships.[7]
Early life
[edit]Christo Popov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He comes from a family featuring other professional badminton players. His father, Thomas, played for and coached the Bulgarian national team; his mother, Tzvetomira, was a national badminton referee; and his older brother, Toma Junior Popov, was a 2017 European Junior Champion.[8]
Career
[edit]Christo Popov started playing badminton at the age of 5.[9] He won the European U15 and U17 Junior Champions in the boys' doubles event with Kenji Lovang in 2016 and 2017 respectively, also finished as boys' singles U15 runner-up in 2016.[10][11] He later won the boys' singles silver medals at the 2018 European and 2019 World Junior Championships.[5][12][13] He managed to win the 2017 Italian Junior International, Danish Junior Cup, also 2018 and 2019 Hungarian Junior International.
At the age of 16, he already won the senior international tournament at the 2018 Bulgarian Open in the men's doubles event with his brother Toma Junior Popov.[14] Christo Popov topped the boys' singles World Junior Ranking on 7 January 2020.[15] He won the men's singles in the 2020 French national championships and in doing so became the youngest ever winner of the competition[16] At the 2020 European Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championships he won the bronze medal with the French national team. In March 2020, he claimed his first BWF Junior International Grand Prix title by winning the Dutch Junior tournament.[17] At the 2020 European Junior Championships in Lahti, Finland, Popov claimed three medals, winning a gold in the boys' singles, a silver in the team, and a bronze in the mixed doubles events.[7]
In 2021, Popov opened the season by participating at the European Mixed Team Championships together with the French national team. The team finished as the finalist and won the silver medal.[18] In May, he received the BEC Young Player of the Year and European Fan Player of the Yeat by the Badminton Europe.[19] At the 2021 Spain Masters, he finished as a men's doubles semi-finalist, losing to the eventual winner, Indonesia's Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan.[20]
In 2024, Christo won two BWF World Tour Super 300 titles, both achieved in Germany which are the German Open and the Hylo open. In the German Open, he defeated Danish Rasmus Gemke in two straight games to clinched his first ever World Tour title.[21] Later in November, he defeated his own older brother Toma Junior Popov in the Hylo Open finals.[22] The Popov brothers also competed for France at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the men's doubles event.[23]
In 2025, Christo Popov reached a monumental milestone in his career by becoming the first French player to win the men's singles title at the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China.[24] Throughout the season, the 23-year-old showcased remarkable consistency, securing runner-up finishes at the Swiss Open and the French Open before his victory in December, where he defeated world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in straight games.[24][25][26] Together with Toma, he also finished runner-up in the German Open.[27] Additionally, he excelled on the continental stage by winning the gold medal in the men's doubles alongside his brother, Toma Junior Popov, and a bronze medal in the men's singles at the European Championships.[1][28] These achievements propelled him to a career-high world ranking of No. 7 in the men's singles by late 2025, officially establishing him as France's top-ranked player.[29]
Achievements
[edit]European Games
[edit]Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland |  Viktor Axelsen
|
21–16, 16–21, 11–21 |  Silver
|
[2] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland |
 Toma Junior Popov
|
 Ben Lane Sean Vendy
|
15–21, 14–21 |  Bronze
|
[3] |
European Championships
[edit]Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Forum, Horsens, Denmark | Alex Lanier
|
15–21, 23–21, 19–21 | Bronze
|
[28] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Forum, Horsens, Denmark | Toma Junior Popov
|
Éloi Adam Léo Rossi
|
21–12, 18–21, 21–18 |  Gold
|
[1] |
BWF World Junior Championships
[edit]Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kazan Gymnastics Center, Kazan, Russia |  Kunlavut Vitidsarn
|
8–21, 11–21 | Silver
|
[13] |
European Junior Championships
[edit]Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn, Estonia |  Arnaud Merklé
|
7–21, 14–21 | Silver
|
[12] |
| 2020 | Pajulahti Sports Institute, Lahti, Finland | Yanis Gaudin
|
21–9, 21–18 | Gold
|
[7] |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Pajulahti Sports Institute, Lahti, Finland |
Flavie Vallet
|
 Gustav Bjorkler Edith Urell
|
18–21, 21–13, 15–21 | Bronze
|
[7][30] |
BWF World Tour (3 titles, 3 runners-up)
[edit]The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[31] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[32]
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | German Open | Super 300 | Rasmus Gemke
|
21–17, 21–16 |  Winner
|
[21] |
| 2024 | Hylo Open | Super 300 | Toma Junior Popov
|
21–13, 21–10 | Winner
|
[22] |
| 2025 | Swiss Open | Super 300 |  Weng Hongyang
|
18–21, 3–21 |  Runner-up
|
[25] |
| 2025 | French Open | Super 750 | Anders Antonsen
|
12–21, 19–21 | Runner-up
|
[26] |
| 2025 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | Shi Yuqi
|
21–19, 21–9 | Winner
|
[24] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | German Open | Super 300 | Toma Junior Popov
|
 Kim Won-ho Seo Seung-jae
|
19–21, 17–21 | Runner-up
|
[27] |
BWF International Challenge/Series (4 titles, 2 runners-up)
[edit]Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Italian International |  Subhankar Dey
|
21–16, 22–20 | Winner
|
| 2022 | Ukraine Open |  Ong Ken Yon
|
21–14, 22–20 | Winner
|
| 2022 | Nantes International | Mads Christophersen
|
8–21, 21–11, 14–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2022 | Dutch Open | Mads Christophersen
|
25–23, 21–10 | Winner
|
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Bulgarian Open | Toma Junior Popov
|
 Chen Yu-jun Lin Bing-wei
|
17–21, 21–7, 21–17 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Italian International | Toma Junior Popov
|
 Bjarne Geiss Jan Colin Völker
|
18–21, 16–21 | Runner-up
|
BWF Junior International (5 titles, 4 runners-up)
[edit]Boys' singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Hungarian Junior International |  Ondřej Král
|
10–12, 11–6, 11–4, 11–13, 10–12 | Runner-up
|
| 2017 | Italian Junior International |  Julien Carraggi
|
21–15, 21–11 | Winner
|
| 2017 | Romanian Junior International | Arnaud Merklé
|
14–21, 10–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2017 | Danish Junior Cup | Karl Thor Søndergaard
|
21–16, 21–13 | Winner
|
| 2018 | Hungarian Junior International | Arnaud Merklé
|
21–18, 10–21, 21–7 | Winner
|
| 2018 | Spanish Junior International | Arnaud Merklé
|
21–16, 9–21, 13–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2019 | Hungarian Junior International | Axel Henrik Parkhøi
|
21–9, 18–21, 21–10 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Jakarta Junior International |  Syabda Perkasa Belawa
|
14–21, 17–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2020 | Dutch Junior International | Jin Yong
|
21–14, 21–10 | Winner
|
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Les frères Popov champions d'Europe en double après une finale française face à Éloi Adam et Léo Rossi" (in French). L'Équipe. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ a b Smirnova, Lena (3 July 2023). "European Games 2023: Brotherly revenge nearly halts Axelsen on path to badminton gold while Marin claims seventh European title". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Jeux Européens : 2 médailles de bronze et 3 chances de finale" (in French). Fédération Française de Badminton. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (15 March 2025). "All England: Christo Popov Sets French Milestone". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ a b Raftery, Alan (25 November 2019). "Christo Popov: the hard work begins now". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Christo Popov numéro 1 mondial" (in French). Fédération Française de Badminton. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d Jiwani, Rory (8 November 2020). "Things we learnt as Popov and Shapovalova take European junior singles crowns". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Detout, Arnaud (26 October 2021). "Badminton : de la Bulgarie aux Internationaux de France, la folle histoire de la famille Popov" (in French). Le Parisien. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ "Christo Popov" (in French). Team Popov. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Phelan, Mark (1 March 2016). "Broad dispersal of medals in Kazan". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Badminton-Europe : Christo Popov en or en double, à Prague" (in French). La Provence. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b Bucur, Alexandra (17 September 2018). "Badminton : le Mulhousien Arnaud Merklé, champion d'Europe junior et chef de file d'une Alsace qui brille" (in French). France 3. Archived from the original on 29 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Mondiaux juniors : Christo Popov en argent" (in French). L'Équipe. 13 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Lollike, Emma (17 August 2018). "Siblings succeed in Sofia". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Badminton : Christo Popov, l'as du volant". Le Parisien (in French). 1 February 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Sachetat, Raphaël (2 February 2020). "French Nationals – Popov enters history again". Badzine. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ Castela, Benoit (1 March 2020). "Dutch Junior 2020 : Christo Popov, numéro un mondial qui assume !" (in French). Badmania. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "EMTC 21 : Les Bleus, vice-champions d'Europe" (in French). Fédération Française de Badminton. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Christo Popov récompensé par Badminton Europe" (in French). Fédération Française de Badminton. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ Raftery, Alan (22 May 2021). "Will it be 11 out of 11 for Popov?". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ a b "German Open : Christo Ppopov crowned for the first time". Yonex Internationaux de France de Badminton. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Christo Popov domine son frère Toma Junior en finale du Hylo Open" (in French). L'Équipe. 3 November 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ "POPOV Christo". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Ménétrier, Denis (21 December 2025). "Christo Popov remporte les World Tour Finals, le plus grand exploit de l'histoire du badminton français" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Weng Hong Yang wins the men's singles". Yonex Swiss Open. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ a b de Villiers, Ockert (27 October 2025). "BWF French Open 2025: An Seyoung retains her title as Anders Antonsen prevails over local hero". Olympics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ a b Blaise, Renaud (3 March 2025). "Badminton - German Open : pas de titre pour les frères Popov" (in French). Le Provence. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ a b Fioux, David (13 April 2025). "Toma Junior Popov contre Alex Lanier, une finale 100 % française en simple hommes des Championnats d'Europe" (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Detout, Arnaud (21 December 2025). ""C'est complètement fou ce que j'ai réalisé" : Christo Popov, l'acte de naissance d'un crack du badminton" (in French). Le Parisien. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Fournier, Bastien (6 November 2020). "Europe Juniors - Christo / Yanis, l'affiche de la finale SH". Badzine (in French). Archived from the original on 29 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
External links
[edit]- Christo Popov at BWFBadminton.com
- Christo Popov at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (archived)
- Christo Popov at Équipe de France (in French)
- Christo Popov at InterSportStats
- Christo Popov on Instagram
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World rankings: Top ten badminton players as of 3 February 2026 | |
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