Christo Popov won his first Super 750 title of his career on Sunday, defeating Japan's Koki Watanabe 21-11 21-19 to win the DAIHATSU Japan Open 2026.

The reigning European champion was the only European to reach a final at the tournament and delivered yet another confident performance to claim the title, the biggest on the tour after last year's HSBC BWF World Tour Finals win.

After defeating Kodai Naraoka 21-14 21-11 in the semifinals, Popov went into the final feeling fresher than Watanabe, who had battled through a gruelling three-game clash against Yushi Tanaka the previous day.

Following the victory, Popov credited both his physical condition and the people around him throughout the week. "It means a lot. It's a very big achievement," he said. "But most of all, I'm proud of the team. We came as a very big team here and it was great. I would say we had a great bubble, great atmosphere through the week, with a lot of confidence that made me perform as well as I can."

Although the opening game was one-sided, Watanabe raised his level in the second, forcing some tough rallies before Popov closed out the match in straight games. "Koki is a very skillful player. He managed to make me work hard through the whole second game. We had some very long rallies, very difficult rallies."

The title is Popov's first at Super 750 level after finishing runner-up at the French Open, also a Super 750, last year. He now heads straight to the VICTOR China Open, where another major challenge awaits – now at a Super 1000 tournament.

See the full results from the DAIHATSU Japan Open 2026 here.