Men's singles · Thomas Cup

Shi Yu Qi vs Christo Popov

Thomas Cup 2026 · Final · 3 May 2026 · Denmark

Shi Yu Qi beat Christo Popov 21–16, 16–21, 21–17 in the final of Thomas Cup 2026.

Player	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Shi Yu Qi CHN · World No. 1 Won	21	16	21
Christo Popov FRA · World No. 4	16	21	17

112 rallies tracked shot by shot by GGAB analysts. See their head-to-head

Tale of the tape

Shi Yu Qi against Christo Popov: results, serves, striking side and shot direction.
Shi Yu Qi	Stat	Christo Popov
Result
58	Points won	54
30	Winners	18
11	Errors forced	9
27	Unforced errors	17
74	Smashes	60
52%	Won on own serve	48%
Serve
100%	Short serves	94%
47%	To the body	41%
48%	To the middle	24%
5%	Out wide	35%
Striking side
50%	Forehand	54%
43%	Backhand	39%
7%	Around the head	7%
Direction
51%	Straight	52%
35%	Cross-court	37%
14%	Middle	11%

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

Match summary

Shi Yu Qi controlled the match despite Popov's early aggression, taking the opener 21-16 after recovering from a 6-0 deficit and winning the decisive third game 20-17. The second game slipped away when Popov mounted a 4-shot run from 12-12 to seize momentum, but Shi regrouped in game three with a decisive 5-shot burst from 6-8 that proved the difference. Both players leaned heavily on smashes as their primary weapon, yet the match remained competitive throughout with four lead changes in game two and three in the decider, suggesting Popov stayed within striking distance until the final points.

Written by AI from the tracked data.

Point progression

Shi Yu QiChristo Popov

0510152021

Running score across 112 tracked rallies, Shi Yu Qi against Christo Popov. Games closed 21–16, 16–21, 21–17.

View game scores

Game	Shi Yu Qi	Christo Popov
Game 1	21	16
Game 2	16	21
Game 3	21	17

Rally length

Avg rally — by shots

13.1shots

Avg rally — by time

15.1sec

Rallies by length (shots)

1–2

3–4

5–8

9–14

15–20

21+

112 rallies tracked, most of them (31%) in the 5–8 shot band. The longest ran 63 shots.

View data

Length (shots)	Rallies	Avg seconds
1–2	1	4.0
3–4	16	6.1
5–8	35	8.9
9–14	26	13.1
15–20	10	19.5
21+	24	31.2

Shot patterns

Most common 3-shot runs

1.B1Forehand Net Cross→A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Drop Straight
Happened 7× out of 111 rallies
2.B1Backhand Net Straight→A1Backhand Spin Net Straight→B1Backhand Lift Cross
Happened 6× out of 111 rallies
3.B1Forehand Lift Cross→A1Around-the-Head Smash Straight→B1Backhand Block Straight
Happened 6× out of 111 rallies
4.A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Drop Cross→A1Backhand Net Straight
Happened 5× out of 111 rallies
5.A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Smash Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight
Happened 5× out of 111 rallies

Most common 5-shot runs

1.A1Short Serve Middle→B1Forehand Net Cross→A1Backhand Spin Net Straight→B1Backhand Spin Net Straight→A1Backhand Brush Cross
Happened 2× out of 111 rallies
2.A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Drop Cross→A1Backhand Net Straight→B1Backhand Spin Net Straight→A1Backhand Lift Middle
Happened 2× out of 111 rallies
3.A1Forehand Clear Cross→B1Around-the-Head Half Smash Straight→A1Backhand Block Cross→B1Forehand Lift Straight→A1Forehand Drop Straight
Happened 2× out of 111 rallies
4.A1Forehand Cut Slice Cross→B1Backhand Net Straight→A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Smash Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight
Happened 2× out of 111 rallies
5.B1Backhand Lift Cross→A1Forehand Cut Slice Cross→B1Backhand Net Straight→A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Smash Straight
Happened 2× out of 111 rallies

Who did what

Most winners

Shi Yu Qi

Most errors forced

Shi Yu Qi

Most unforced errors

Shi Yu Qi

By player

Shi Yu Qi

742 shots

Winners 30Forced 11Unforced 27

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 742 shots Shi Yu Qi played, the most used were lift (24%), net (24%) and block (14%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Lift	24%	181
Net	24%	179
Block	14%	106
Drop	10%	74
Smash	10%	74
Serve	8%	58

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

47%

My winner18Forced opp. error9Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Shi Yu Qi won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (47%), lift (18%) and net (14%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	47%
Lift	18%
Net	14%
Brush	7%
Kill	5%
Drive	4%
Drop	4%
Clear	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

33%

Opp. winner13My forced error0My unforced error5

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Shi Yu Qi lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (33%), block (17%) and lift (13%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	33%
Block	17%
Lift	13%
Net	11%
Drop	9%
Clear	7%
Drive	6%
Brush	4%

Rally outcome — points won

57 rallies

My winner53%
Forced opp. error19%
Drew opp. unforced28%

Of the 57 rallies Shi Yu Qi won, 53% came from their own winners, 28% from drawing an opponent unforced error and 19% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	53%	30
Forced opp. error	19%	11
Drew opp. unforced	28%	16

Rally outcome — points lost

54 rallies

Opp. winner33%
My forced error17%
My unforced error50%

Of the 54 rallies Shi Yu Qi lost, 50% from their own unforced errors, 33% from an opponent winner and 17% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	33%	18
My forced error	17%	9
My unforced error	50%	27

Christo Popov

730 shots

Winners 18Forced 9Unforced 17

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 730 shots Christo Popov played, the most used were net (26%), lift (23%) and drop (14%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Net	26%	187
Lift	23%	171
Drop	14%	100
Block	13%	98
Smash	8%	60
Serve	7%	54

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

33%

My winner13Forced 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 (33%), lift (22%) and net (19%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	33%
Lift	22%
Net	19%
Drive	9%
Drop	7%
Block	6%
Brush	2%
Clear	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

33%

Opp. winner18My forced error0My unforced error1

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Christo Popov lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (33%), block (17%) and lift (14%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	33%
Block	17%
Lift	14%
Drop	9%
Net	7%
Brush	5%
Clear	5%
Kill	5%
Drive	3%
Serve	2%

Rally outcome — points won

54 rallies

My winner33%
Forced opp. error17%
Drew opp. unforced50%

Of the 54 rallies Christo Popov won, 50% from drawing an opponent unforced error, 33% from their own winners and 17% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	33%	18
Forced opp. error	17%	9
Drew opp. unforced	50%	27

Rally outcome — points lost

58 rallies

Opp. winner52%
My forced error19%
My unforced error29%

Of the 58 rallies Christo Popov lost, 52% came from an opponent winner, 29% from their own unforced errors and 19% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	52%	30
My forced error	19%	11
My unforced error	29%	17

Your game, this treatment

How does your game compare to Shi Yu Qi?

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.

Gear

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Shi Yu Qi

Used in this match

Racket
Yonex Astrox 100 ZZ
Amazon

Christo Popov

Used in this match

Racket
Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro
Amazon
String
Yonex BG80
Amazon

Match shuttle: Victor Master Ace

Amazon

Setups come from sponsor kit lists and retailer listings. Pros change frames between seasons, so a current setup may differ from what was used in an older match.