Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue are through to the semifinals at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2026, securing a podium finish and a historic milestone for French badminton.

The French pair have defeated second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin, 21-16 21-16, booking their place in the semifinals. 

It was their third meeting with the Chinese duo and their first win against them, having lost the previous two matches – although their last clash, at the World Tour Finals, was close as it went to three games.

This time, Gicquel and Delrue got the win, and in straight games. “We are really happy and proud of our match today. I think we played really well. And to make it to the semifinals by beating world number two is always special, so we are really happy,” said Delrue.

The result also means the first two seeds are both out of the tournament. Top seeds Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping lost yesterday to Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch, while Gicquel/Delrue have taken out the second seeds today.

For the French duo, it is their first semifinal at this Super 1000 event. “It’s the best tournament of the year for sure. We have played very well since the beginning. We’re very happy with the work we did since last month, it’s working,” Delrue said.

The Gicquel/Delrue knew they could challenge Jiang/Wei after their previous close match and approached today’s with a clear plan. “We knew that the other match we played against them was really close so we knew we had a chance. The most important thing was to always put pressure on them and we did that today,” Delrue added.

Gicquel also pointed to how they handled the pace. “I think it was the third time we played them. They were two close matches before. We knew that we have to move very fast against Chinese players, take the net at the mid-court. But compared to the other matches, we were more calm at the back. We stayed calm, didn't force anything, because they wanted us to force and play a lot of speed. But we didn't today, so it was a good match.”

The win is also another milestone for France, a nation who will see Christo Popov in singles, and then Toma Junior Popov/Christo Popov in doubles stepping on court later in today’s quarterfinals. “It's amazing to write history for France with the rest of the players. We are really happy. Of course, we want to be the first at everything, but the rest are really good. So we need to play better every time to be the best,” said Delrue.