Men's singles · Super 1000

Victor Lai vs Toma Junior Popov

China Open 2026 · Semi-final · 25 Jul 2026

Toma Junior Popov beat Victor Lai 14–21, 21–12, 21–15 in the semi-final of China Open 2026.

Player	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Victor Lai CAN · World No. 8	21	12	15
Toma Junior Popov FRA · World No. 16 Won	14	21	21

104 rallies tracked shot by shot by GGAB analysts.

Tale of the tape

Victor Lai against Toma Junior Popov: results, serves, striking side and shot direction.
Victor Lai	Stat	Toma Junior Popov
Result
48	Points won	56
15	Winners	14
7	Errors forced	15
27	Unforced errors	26
54	Smashes	58
47%	Won on own serve	55%
Serve
96%	Short serves	98%
55%	To the body	56%
37%	To the middle	40%
8%	Out wide	4%
Striking side
54%	Forehand	45%
37%	Backhand	49%
8%	Around the head	6%
Direction
52%	Straight	53%
30%	Cross-court	29%
18%	Middle	18%

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

Point progression

Victor LaiToma Junior Popov

0510152021

Running score across 104 tracked rallies, Victor Lai against Toma Junior Popov. Games closed 21–14, 12–21, 15–21.

View game scores

Game	Victor Lai	Toma Junior Popov
Game 1	21	14
Game 2	12	21
Game 3	15	21

Rally length

Avg rally — by shots

12.3shots

Avg rally — by time

13.7sec

Rallies by length (shots)

1–2

3–4

5–8

9–14

15–20

21+

104 rallies tracked, most of them (30%) in the 5–8 shot band. The longest ran 73 shots.

View data

Length (shots)	Rallies	Avg seconds
1–2	10	4.7
3–4	7	6.3
5–8	31	8.3
9–14	23	13.4
15–20	16	17.7
21+	17	28.4

Shot patterns

Most common 3-shot runs

1.A1Forehand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Smash Straight→A1Backhand Block Straight
Happened 8× out of 94 rallies
2.A1Forehand Drive Straight→B1Backhand Block Straight→A1Forehand Net Straight
Happened 7× out of 94 rallies
3.B1Backhand Drive Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight→B1Backhand Net Straight
Happened 5× out of 94 rallies
4.A1Backhand Block Straight→B1Forehand Net Straight→A1Backhand Lift Cross
Happened 4× out of 94 rallies
5.A1Backhand Drive Cross→B1Backhand Drive Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight
Happened 4× out of 94 rallies

Most common 5-shot runs

1.B1Forehand Smash Cross→A1Forehand Block Straight→B1Backhand Net Straight→A1Forehand Drive Straight→B1Backhand Drive Cross
Happened 2× out of 94 rallies
2.A1Long Serve Body→B1Around-the-Head Half Smash Straight→A1Forehand Block Straight→B1Backhand Spin Net Straight→A1Forehand High Lift Cross
Happened 1× out of 94 rallies
3.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Drive Cross→A1Forehand Drive Middle→B1Backhand Block Middle→A1Forehand Lift Cross
Happened 1× out of 94 rallies
4.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Net Cross→A1Backhand Lift Cross→B1Around-the-Head Smash Middle→A1Forehand Block Middle
Happened 1× out of 94 rallies
5.A1Short Serve Body→B1Backhand Net Cross→A1Forehand Lift Cross→B1Forehand Smash Straight→A1Backhand Block Straight
Happened 1× out of 94 rallies

Who did what

Most winners

Victor Lai

Most errors forced

Toma Junior Popov

Most unforced errors

Victor Lai

By player

Victor Lai

643 shots

Winners 15Forced 7Unforced 27

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 643 shots Victor Lai played, the most used were net (28%), lift (21%) and block (14%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Net	28%	179
Lift	21%	134
Block	14%	93
Drive	11%	72
Smash	8%	54
Serve	8%	49

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Smash

25%

My winner10Forced opp. error2Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Victor Lai won break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (25%), net (21%) and block (10%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	25%
Net	21%
Block	10%
Drive	10%
Lift	10%
Serve	8%
Clear	6%
Drop	6%
Brush	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Lift

21%

Opp. winner2My forced error1My unforced error9

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Victor Lai lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by lift (21%), block (20%) and drive (16%).

View data

Shot	Share
Lift	21%
Block	20%
Drive	16%
Net	14%
Smash	14%
Kill	9%
Drop	4%
Clear	2%

Rally outcome — points won

48 rallies

My winner31%
Forced opp. error15%
Drew opp. unforced54%

Of the 48 rallies Victor Lai won, 54% from drawing an opponent unforced error, 31% from their own winners and 15% from forcing an opponent error.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	31%	15
Forced opp. error	15%	7
Drew opp. unforced	54%	26

Rally outcome — points lost

56 rallies

Opp. winner25%
My forced error27%
My unforced error48%

Of the 56 rallies Victor Lai lost, 48% from their own unforced errors, 27% from their own forced errors and 25% from an opponent winner.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	25%	14
My forced error	27%	15
My unforced error	48%	27

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net52%
Out the back12%
Out on sides36%

Across 42 tagged errors, Victor Lai missed into the net 52% of the time, out on sides 36% of the time and out the back 12% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	52%	22
Out the back	12%	5
Out on sides	36%	15

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape17%
Above Net Midline31%
Below Net Midline23%
Below Net29%

On net-area shots, Victor Lai met the shuttle above tape 17% of the time, above net midline 31% of the time, below net midline 23% of the time and below net 29% of the time, and missed most often from below net (10% of those shots) against 4% from above net midline.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	17%	80	9%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	31%	146	4%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	23%	111	7%
All net shots	Below Net	29%	141	10%
Net	Above Tape	5%	9	0%
Net	Above Net Midline	47%	84	2%
Net	Below Net Midline	28%	50	2%
Net	Below Net	20%	36	14%
Lift	Above Tape	2%	3	—
Lift	Above Net Midline	16%	21	0%
Lift	Below Net Midline	34%	46	11%
Lift	Below Net	48%	64	8%
Block	Above Tape	19%	18	11%
Block	Above Net Midline	25%	23	13%
Block	Below Net Midline	12%	11	18%
Block	Below Net	44%	41	10%
Drive	Above Tape	69%	50	10%
Drive	Above Net Midline	25%	18	6%
Drive	Below Net Midline	6%	4	—

Toma Junior Popov

641 shots

Winners 14Forced 15Unforced 26

Most-used shots

click a bar

Of 641 shots Toma Junior Popov played, the most used were net (27%), lift (21%) and drive (12%).

View data

Shot	Share	Shots
Net	27%	175
Lift	21%	132
Drive	12%	76
Block	11%	73
Smash	9%	58
Drop	9%	56

Points won — by shot

click a bar

Drive

20%

My winner3Forced opp. error8Drew opp. unforced0

My winnerForced opp. errorDrew opp. unforced

Points Toma Junior Popov won break down by the shot that ended them — led by drive (20%), smash (20%) and lift (18%).

View data

Shot	Share
Drive	20%
Smash	20%
Lift	18%
Net	16%
Kill	9%
Block	7%
Serve	5%
Drop	4%
Clear	2%

Points lost — by shot

click a bar

Smash

29%

Opp. winner10My forced error0My unforced error4

Opp. winnerMy forced errorMy unforced error

Points Toma Junior Popov lost break down by the shot that ended them — led by smash (29%), lift (21%) and net (15%).

View data

Shot	Share
Smash	29%
Lift	21%
Net	15%
Drive	10%
Block	8%
Clear	6%
Drop	6%
Brush	2%
Kill	2%

Rally outcome — points won

56 rallies

My winner25%
Forced opp. error27%
Drew opp. unforced48%

Of the 56 rallies Toma Junior Popov won, 48% from drawing an opponent unforced error, 27% from forcing an opponent error and 25% from their own winners.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
My winner	25%	14
Forced opp. error	27%	15
Drew opp. unforced	48%	27

Rally outcome — points lost

48 rallies

Opp. winner31%
My forced error15%
My unforced error54%

Of the 48 rallies Toma Junior Popov lost, 54% from their own unforced errors, 31% from an opponent winner and 15% from their own forced errors.

View data

Outcome	Share	Rallies
Opp. winner	31%	15
My forced error	15%	7
My unforced error	54%	26

Where the errors went

fully tagged

Into the net39%
Out the back18%
Out on sides42%

Across 33 tagged errors, Toma Junior Popov missed out on sides 42% of the time, into the net 39% of the time and out the back 18% of the time.

View data

Destination	Share	Errors
Into the net	39%	13
Out the back	18%	6
Out on sides	42%	14

Contact height at the net

fully tagged

Above Tape14%
Above Net Midline21%
Below Net Midline31%
Below Net35%

On net-area shots, Toma Junior Popov met the shuttle above tape 14% of the time, above net midline 21% of the time, below net midline 31% of the time and below net 35% of the time, and missed most often from below net (8% of those shots) against 3% from below net midline.

View contact height by shot

Shot	Height	Share	Shots	Error rate
All net shots	Above Tape	14%	62	5%
All net shots	Above Net Midline	21%	95	6%
All net shots	Below Net Midline	31%	140	3%
All net shots	Below Net	35%	159	8%
Net	Above Tape	1%	1	—
Net	Above Net Midline	34%	60	5%
Net	Below Net Midline	33%	58	3%
Net	Below Net	32%	56	2%
Lift	Above Tape	1%	1	—
Lift	Above Net Midline	6%	8	13%
Lift	Below Net Midline	41%	54	2%
Lift	Below Net	52%	69	12%
Drive	Above Tape	57%	43	5%
Drive	Above Net Midline	20%	15	7%
Drive	Below Net Midline	16%	12	8%
Drive	Below Net	8%	6	17%
Block	Above Tape	23%	17	6%
Block	Above Net Midline	16%	12	8%
Block	Below Net Midline	22%	16	0%
Block	Below Net	38%	28	7%

Your game, this treatment

How does your game compare to Toma Junior Popov?

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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Victor Lai

Current setup, as of 2026

Racket
Yonex Astrox 100 ZZ
Amazon
String
Yonex BG80
Amazon
Shoes
Yonex Power Cushion 65 Z4
Amazon

Toma Junior Popov

Current setup, as of undated retailer page

Racket
Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro
Amazon
String
Yonex BG80 · 33 lbs
Amazon
Shoes
Yonex Power Cushion 65 Z4
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.