In the glow of French men’s singles badminton, much of the spotlight has long been on prodigy Alex Lanier. But this season, a different name is quietly carving its place in the sport’s elite.

Now world No.8, Christo Popov, the 23-year-old from Fos-sur-Mer, has stealthily stormed into the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals qualification picture, outpacing even his higher-profile compatriot. After years of steady grinding behind the scenes, Popov’s 2025 season has been one of consistency and is shaping up to be the best of his career.

“Nothing special, just working hard,” Popov says with characteristic humility. “Of course, I’m in good form or at least getting better placings this season. But it’s also years of hard work. At some point, you know the results will come, and that leads to more confidence at tournaments.”

And the results have spoken for themselves.

Popov finished runner-up at the Swiss Open and in recent months reeled off three consecutive Super 750 semifinal appearances at the Singapore Open, Japan Open and China Masters. Along the way, he’s scalped some of the discipline’s biggest names: Jonatan Christie, Chou Tien Chen, Kodai Naraoka, Li Shi Feng and Anders Antonsen. Among the current top 10, he’s made the biggest jump, having been world No.31 as recently as March.

“Mentally, it’s different,” he reflects on his ranking breakthrough. “I’m on this wave for about half a year now. I’m happy about that and I’m trying to focus on carrying forward the good things I do at tournaments, reproduce and get better.”

A former World Junior Championships silver medallist and a known doubles talent alongside older brother Toma Junior, Popov’s game has benefitted from the multi-discipline exposure. His creative flair – particularly his signature backhand kill – nowadays adds a touch of excitement to his singles matches.

“Doubles helps a great deal as well. Most importantly, I’m having a lot of fun playing both,” grinned Popov when asked about his backhand. And it shows. There’s a lightness to his on-court presence this year, a freedom that suggests Popov isn’t just chasing results, he’s enjoying the journey.

Next up, Popov heads to the CLASH OF CLANS Arctic Open 2025, where he opens his campaign as third seed against India’s Shankar Subramanian.

To quote the southpaw himself, he’s been “on this wave” for a while now.

Question is, how high can it carry him?