Desislava Popova was born in 1973 in Sofia and studied mathematics at the NPMG and graduated from the University of Sofia.

 Her career bridge players has exploded in recent years by winning silver medal  in the European Championship in Mixed Pairs (2009) and two medals in the Mixed Team (bronze in 2002 and gold in 2009), as well as silver in the White House (2008).

These results along with several other placing have earned her the title of World Master.