Men's singles · World Championships

Kenta Nishimoto vs Christo Popov

BWF World Championships 2026 · Round of 64 · 18 Aug 2026

Kenta Nishimoto beat Christo Popov 21–17, 21–19 in the round of 64 of BWF World Championships 2026.

Player	Game 1	Game 2
Kenta Nishimoto JPN · World No. 24 Won	21	21
Christo Popov FRA	17	19

78 rallies tracked shot by shot by GGAB analysts.

Match facts

Tournament: BWF World Championships 2026
Round: Round of 64
Date: 18 Aug 2026
Level: World Championships
Discipline: Men's singles
Shuttle: Yonex Aerosensa 50Amazon

Players: background, rankings and kit
Fact	Kenta Nishimoto	Christo Popov
Country	JPN	FRA
Plays	Right-handed	Left-handed
Born	1994	2002
Height	1.80 m	1.79 m
Weight	75 kg	Not known
Ranking at the time	No. 24	Not known
Career-high rank	No. 9men's singles, 2018	No. 2men's singles, 2026
Racket	Not known	Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro Amazon
String	Not known	Yonex BG80 Amazon
Shoes	Not known	Not known
Kit source	Not known	Recorded for this match

Kit comes from sponsor lists and retailer listings. Pros change frames between seasons, so a current setup may differ from what was used in an older match. Amazon links are paid links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tale of the tape

Kenta Nishimoto against Christo Popov: results, serves, striking side and shot direction.
Kenta Nishimoto	Stat	Christo Popov
Result
42	Points won	36
17	Winners	14
8	Errors forced	5
17	Unforced errors	17
73	Smashes	57
44%	Won on own serve	35%
Serve
85%	Short serves	95%
71%	To the body	68%
27%	To the middle	19%
2%	Out wide	14%
Striking side
47%	Forehand	50%
43%	Backhand	40%
10%	Around the head	11%
Direction
57%	Straight	52%
27%	Cross-court	34%
16%	Middle	15%

Serve rows are shares of each side's serves. Striking side and direction are shares of every other shot.

Point progression

Kenta NishimotoChristo Popov

0510152021

Running score across 78 tracked rallies, Kenta Nishimoto against Christo Popov. Games closed 21–17, 21–19.

View game scores

Game	Kenta Nishimoto	Christo Popov
Game 1	21	17
Game 2	21	19

Rally length

Avg rally — by shots

12.7shots

Avg rally — by time

14.3sec

Rallies by length (shots)

1–2

3–4

5–8

9–14

15–20

21+

78 rallies tracked, most of them (24%) in the 5–8 shot band. The longest ran 44 shots.

View data

Length (shots)	Rallies	Avg seconds
1–2	6	4.5
3–4	10	6.2
5–8	19	8.2
9–14	15	13.3
15–20	11	17.9
21+	17	28.2

Shot patterns

Most common 3-shot runs

1.A1Around-the-Head Smash Straight→B1Backhand Block Straight→A1Backhand Flat Push Straight
Happened 3× out of 72 rallies
2.B1Forehand Block Cross→A1Backhand Net Middle→B1Forehand Net Straight
Happened 3× out of 72 rallies
3.A1Short Serve Middle→B1Forehand Net Cross→A1Backhand Lift Cross
Happened 2× out of 72 rallies
4.A1Backhand Block Cross→B1Forehand Net Straight→A1Forehand Lift Cross
Happened 2× out of 72 rallies
5.A1Backhand Flat Push Cross→B1Forehand Cut Slice Cross→A1Backhand Net Straight
Happened 2× out of 72 rallies

Most common 5-shot runs

1.A1Drive Serve Body→B1Backhand Drive Straight→A1Backhand Block Straight→B1Backhand High Lift Cross→A1Forehand Clear Straight
Happened 1× out of 72 rallies
2.A1Long Serve Body→B1Around-the-Head Drop Middle→A1Backhand Block Cross→B1Forehand Net Middle→A1Forehand Lift Straight
Happened 1× out of 72 rallies
3.A1Long Serve Wide→B1Forehand Drop Cross→A1Backhand Lift Middle→B1Around-the-Head Drop Cross→A1Forehand Net Middle
Happened 1× out of 72 rallies
4.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Drive Middle→A1Forehand Block Middle→B1Around-the-Head Kill Middle→A1Backhand Block Middle
Happened 1× out of 72 rallies
5.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Drive Straight→A1Backhand Clear Straight→B1Forehand Clear Straight→A1Around-the-Head Block Straight
Happened 1× out of 72 rallies

Who did what

Most winners

Kenta Nishimoto

Most errors forced

Kenta Nishimoto

Most unforced errors

Kenta Nishimoto

By player

Kenta Nishimoto

497 shots

Winners 17Forced 8Unforced 17

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 497 shots Kenta Nishimoto played, the most used were lift (26%), net (21%) and block (16%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Lift	26%	127
Net	21%	103
Block	16%	80
Smash	15%	73
Serve	8%	41
Clear	6%	28

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

31%

My winner6Forced opp. error7Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Kenta Nishimoto won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (31%), lift (24%) and drop (12%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	31%
Lift	24%
Drop	12%
Net	12%
Block	10%
Serve	5%
Clear	2%
Drive	2%
Kill	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

31%

Opp. winner8My forced error0My unforced error3

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Kenta Nishimoto lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (31%), block (22%) and lift (14%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	31%
Block	22%
Lift	14%
Net	14%
Kill	8%
Clear	6%
Drop	3%
Serve	3%

Rally outcome — points won

42 rallies

My winner40%
Forced opp. error19%
Drew opp. unforced40%

Of the 42 rallies Kenta Nishimoto won, 40% came from their own winners, 40% from drawing an opponent unforced error and 19% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	40%	17
Forced opp. error	19%	8
Drew opp. unforced	40%	17

Rally outcome — points lost

36 rallies

Opp. winner39%
My forced error14%
My unforced error47%

Of the 36 rallies Kenta Nishimoto lost, 47% from their own unforced errors, 39% from an opponent winner and 14% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	39%	14
My forced error	14%	5
My unforced error	47%	17

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net45%
Out the back23%
Out on sides32%

Across 22 tagged errors, Kenta Nishimoto missed into the net 45% of the time, out on sides 32% of the time and out the back 23% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	45%	10
Out the back	23%	5
Out on sides	32%	7

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape8%
Above Net Midline32%
Below Net Midline45%
Below Net16%

On net-area shots, Kenta Nishimoto met the shuttle above tape 8% of the time, above net midline 32% of the time, below net midline 45% of the time and below net 16% of the time, and missed most often from below net (10% of those shots) against 0% from above tape.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	8%	25	0%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	32%	103	1%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	45%	146	5%
All net shots	Below Net	16%	52	10%
Lift	Above Tape	1%	1	—
Lift	Above Net Midline	20%	25	0%
Lift	Below Net Midline	67%	85	4%
Lift	Below Net	13%	16	6%
Net	Above Tape	1%	1	—
Net	Above Net Midline	52%	54	0%
Net	Below Net Midline	31%	32	6%
Net	Below Net	16%	16	13%
Block	Above Tape	18%	14	0%
Block	Above Net Midline	24%	19	5%
Block	Below Net Midline	34%	27	11%
Block	Below Net	25%	20	10%
Drive	Above Tape	56%	9	0%
Drive	Above Net Midline	31%	5	0%
Drive	Below Net Midline	13%	2	—

Christo Popov

495 shots

Winners 14Forced 5Unforced 17

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 495 shots Christo Popov played, the most used were net (21%), lift (21%) and block (15%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Net	21%	106
Lift	21%	104
Block	15%	74
Smash	12%	57
Drop	10%	48
Serve	7%	37

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

37%

My winner8Forced opp. error5Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Christo Popov won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (37%), block (17%) and drop (11%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	37%
Block	17%
Drop	11%
Lift	11%
Net	11%
Kill	6%
Clear	3%
Serve	3%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

31%

Opp. winner6My forced error0My unforced error7

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Christo Popov lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (31%), block (19%) and lift (14%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	31%
Block	19%
Lift	14%
Drop	12%
Net	10%
Drive	5%
Kill	5%
Brush	2%
Serve	2%

Rally outcome — points won

35 rallies

My winner40%
Forced opp. error14%
Drew opp. unforced46%

Of the 35 rallies Christo Popov won, 46% from drawing an opponent unforced error, 40% from their own winners and 14% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	40%	14
Forced opp. error	14%	5
Drew opp. unforced	46%	16

Rally outcome — points lost

42 rallies

Opp. winner40%
My forced error19%
My unforced error40%

Of the 42 rallies Christo Popov lost, 40% came from an opponent winner, 40% from their own unforced errors and 19% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	40%	17
My forced error	19%	8
My unforced error	40%	17

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net72%
Out the back8%
Out on sides20%

Across 25 tagged errors, Christo Popov missed into the net 72% of the time, out on sides 20% of the time and out the back 8% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	72%	18
Out the back	8%	2
Out on sides	20%	5

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape11%
Above Net Midline34%
Below Net Midline38%
Below Net17%

On net-area shots, Christo Popov met the shuttle above tape 11% of the time, above net midline 34% of the time, below net midline 38% of the time and below net 17% of the time, and missed most often from below net (11% of those shots) against 0% from above tape.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	11%	35	0%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	34%	109	2%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	38%	121	5%
All net shots	Below Net	17%	53	11%
Net	Above Tape	1%	1	—
Net	Above Net Midline	74%	78	0%
Net	Below Net Midline	19%	20	0%
Net	Below Net	7%	7	43%
Lift	Above Net Midline	8%	8	0%
Lift	Below Net Midline	70%	73	4%
Lift	Below Net	22%	23	0%
Block	Above Tape	14%	10	0%
Block	Above Net Midline	19%	14	7%
Block	Below Net Midline	36%	27	11%
Block	Below Net	31%	23	13%
Drive	Above Tape	71%	24	0%
Drive	Above Net Midline	26%	9	11%
Drive	Below Net Midline	3%	1	—

Your game, this treatment

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Get this exact shot-by-shot breakdown for your own footage, then put your numbers side by side with the pro data on this page: errors, rally length, serves, shot mix and patterns.