Men's singles · Super 500

Lee Zii Jia vs Christo Popov

Arctic Open 2026 · Quarter-final · 9 Oct 2026

Lee Zii Jia beat Christo Popov 21–11, 21–16 in the quarter-final of Arctic Open 2026.

Player	Game 1	Game 2
Lee Zii Jia MAS Won	21	21
Christo Popov FRA	11	16

69 rallies tracked shot by shot by GGAB analysts.

Tale of the tape

Lee Zii Jia against Christo Popov: results, serves, striking side and shot direction.
Lee Zii Jia	Stat	Christo Popov
Result
42	Points won	27
24	Winners	9
3	Errors forced	7
11	Unforced errors	15
30	Smashes	36
56%	Won on own serve	32%
Serve
88%	Short serves	86%
85%	To the body	86%
2%	To the middle	7%
12%	Out wide	7%
Striking side
47%	Forehand	58%
46%	Backhand	31%
7%	Around the head	11%
Direction
61%	Straight	50%
29%	Cross-court	40%
10%	Middle	9%

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

Match summary

Lee Zii Jia dominated this match with a commanding 21-11, 21-16 victory, establishing control early in the first game with a six-point run from 2-2 that stretched to 8-2 and never relinquished the lead. The second game proved slightly more competitive with two lead changes, but Lee's superior smash finishing (15 winners compared to Popov's 5) and more consistent rally play at 9.4 shots per rally gave him the edge when it mattered. Popov's net errors (4 unforced mistakes) and inability to generate sustained offensive pressure sealed his defeat across the two games.

Written by AI from the tracked data.

Point progression

Lee Zii JiaChristo Popov

0510152021

Running score across 69 tracked rallies, Lee Zii Jia against Christo Popov. Games closed 21–11, 21–16.

View game scores

Game	Lee Zii Jia	Christo Popov
Game 1	21	11
Game 2	21	16

Rally length

Avg rally — by shots

8.4shots

Avg rally — by time

10.4sec

Rallies by length (shots)

1–2

3–4

5–8

9–14

15–20

21+

69 rallies tracked, most of them (32%) in the 5–8 shot band. The longest ran 26 shots.

View data

Length (shots)	Rallies	Avg seconds
1–2	7	4.8
3–4	12	6.0
5–8	22	8.3
9–14	18	12.9
15–20	8	18.7
21+	2	24.3

Shot patterns

Most common 3-shot runs

1.B1Short Serve Body→A1Backhand Net Middle→B1Forehand Net Cross
Happened 3× out of 62 rallies
2.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Flat Push Straight→A1Backhand Drive Straight
Happened 2× out of 62 rallies
3.A1Short Serve Body→B1Forehand Net Cross→A1Backhand Spin Net Straight
Happened 2× out of 62 rallies
4.A1Short Serve Body→B1Forehand Net Straight→A1Backhand Net Straight
Happened 2× out of 62 rallies
5.A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Half Smash Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight
Happened 2× out of 62 rallies

Most common 5-shot runs

1.A1Long Serve Body→B1Around-the-Head Clear Cross→A1Forehand Drive Straight→B1Forehand Block Cross→A1Backhand Lift Cross
Happened 1× out of 62 rallies
2.A1Long Serve Body→B1Around-the-Head Smash Straight→A1Backhand Block Cross→B1Forehand Drive Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight
Happened 1× out of 62 rallies
3.A1Long Serve Body→B1Forehand Half Smash Cross→A1Backhand Block Straight→B1Backhand Lift Straight→A1Around-the-Head Smash Cross
Happened 1× out of 62 rallies
4.A1Long Serve Body→B1Forehand Half Smash Straight→A1Forehand Block Cross→B1Forehand Flat Push Cross→A1Forehand Drive Middle
Happened 1× out of 62 rallies
5.A1Long Serve Middle→B1Around-the-Head Half Smash Cross→A1Backhand Block Straight→B1Backhand Drive Middle→A1Backhand Block Cross
Happened 1× out of 62 rallies

Who did what

Most winners

Lee Zii Jia

Most errors forced

Christo Popov

Most unforced errors

Christo Popov

By player

Lee Zii Jia

297 shots

Winners 24Forced 3Unforced 11

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 297 shots Lee Zii Jia played, the most used were lift (22%), net (21%) and block (15%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Lift	22%	64
Net	21%	62
Block	15%	45
Serve	14%	41
Smash	10%	30
Drive	10%	30

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

43%

My winner15Forced opp. error3Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Lee Zii Jia won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (43%), lift (14%) and net (14%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	43%
Lift	14%
Net	14%
Clear	12%
Block	10%
Serve	5%
Drive	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Block

22%

Opp. winner0My forced error6My unforced error0

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Lee Zii Jia lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by block (22%), lift (19%) and net (19%).

View data

Shot	Share
Block	22%
Lift	19%
Net	19%
Smash	19%
Clear	7%
Drop	7%
Drive	4%
Kill	4%

Rally outcome — points won

42 rallies

My winner57%
Forced opp. error7%
Drew opp. unforced36%

Of the 42 rallies Lee Zii Jia won, 57% came from their own winners, 36% from drawing an opponent unforced error and 7% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	57%	24
Forced opp. error	7%	3
Drew opp. unforced	36%	15

Rally outcome — points lost

27 rallies

Opp. winner33%
My forced error26%
My unforced error41%

Of the 27 rallies Lee Zii Jia lost, 41% from their own unforced errors, 33% from an opponent winner and 26% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	33%	9
My forced error	26%	7
My unforced error	41%	11

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net44%
Out the back28%
Out on sides28%

Across 18 tagged errors, Lee Zii Jia missed into the net 44% of the time, out the back 28% of the time and out on sides 28% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	44%	8
Out the back	28%	5
Out on sides	28%	5

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape13%
Above Net Midline21%
Below Net Midline39%
Below Net27%

On net-area shots, Lee Zii Jia met the shuttle above tape 13% of the time, above net midline 21% of the time, below net midline 39% of the time and below net 27% of the time, and missed most often from below net (9% of those shots) against 4% from above tape.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	13%	26	4%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	21%	42	7%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	39%	78	9%
All net shots	Below Net	27%	55	9%
Lift	Above Net Midline	8%	5	20%
Lift	Below Net Midline	59%	38	11%
Lift	Below Net	33%	21	0%
Net	Above Tape	2%	1	—
Net	Above Net Midline	44%	27	7%
Net	Below Net Midline	29%	18	6%
Net	Below Net	26%	16	6%
Block	Above Tape	2%	1	—
Block	Above Net Midline	9%	4	—
Block	Below Net Midline	49%	22	9%
Block	Below Net	40%	18	22%
Drive	Above Tape	80%	24	4%
Drive	Above Net Midline	20%	6	0%

Christo Popov

283 shots

Winners 9Forced 7Unforced 15

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 283 shots Christo Popov played, the most used were net (23%), lift (19%) and block (13%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Net	23%	64
Lift	19%	54
Block	13%	38
Smash	13%	36
Serve	10%	28
Drive	8%	23

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

30%

My winner5Forced opp. error3Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Christo Popov won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (30%), net (22%) and drive (15%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	30%
Net	22%
Drive	15%
Drop	15%
Block	4%
Clear	4%
Kill	4%
Lift	4%
Serve	4%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

43%

Opp. winner15My forced error0My unforced error3

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Christo Popov lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (43%), net (14%) and block (12%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	43%
Net	14%
Block	12%
Lift	12%
Clear	7%
Drop	7%
Drive	5%

Rally outcome — points won

27 rallies

My winner33%
Forced opp. error26%
Drew opp. unforced41%

Of the 27 rallies Christo Popov won, 41% from drawing an opponent unforced error, 33% from their own winners and 26% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	33%	9
Forced opp. error	26%	7
Drew opp. unforced	41%	11

Rally outcome — points lost

42 rallies

Opp. winner57%
My forced error7%
My unforced error36%

Of the 42 rallies Christo Popov lost, 57% came from an opponent winner, 36% from their own unforced errors and 7% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	57%	24
My forced error	7%	3
My unforced error	36%	15

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net56%
Out the back11%
Out on sides33%

Across 18 tagged errors, Christo Popov missed into the net 56% of the time, out on sides 33% of the time and out the back 11% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	56%	10
Out the back	11%	2
Out on sides	33%	6

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape13%
Above Net Midline37%
Below Net Midline36%
Below Net15%

On net-area shots, Christo Popov met the shuttle above tape 13% of the time, above net midline 37% of the time, below net midline 36% of the time and below net 15% of the time, and missed most often from below net (12% of those shots) against 4% from above tape.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	13%	23	4%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	37%	66	5%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	36%	64	6%
All net shots	Below Net	15%	26	12%
Net	Above Net Midline	81%	52	6%
Net	Below Net Midline	14%	9	11%
Net	Below Net	5%	3	—
Lift	Above Net Midline	6%	3	—
Lift	Below Net Midline	72%	39	5%
Lift	Below Net	22%	12	8%
Block	Above Tape	13%	5	0%
Block	Above Net Midline	18%	7	0%
Block	Below Net Midline	39%	15	7%
Block	Below Net	29%	11	18%
Drive	Above Tape	78%	18	6%
Drive	Above Net Midline	17%	4	—
Drive	Below Net Midline	4%	1	—

Your game, this treatment

How does your game compare to Lee Zii Jia?

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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Lee Zii Jia

Current setup, as of 2023+

Racket
Victor Thruster Ryuga Metallic
Amazon

Christo Popov

Current setup, as of 2026

Racket
Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro
Amazon
String
Yonex BG80
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.