ALEX Eala kept it simple after being named to the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, but the recognition captures just how massive the Filipina tennis star’s rise has become over the past year.
In its feature, Forbes wrote that Eala “got Filipinos fired up about tennis” after breaking into the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Top 50 last year and climbing to a career-high world no. 29 in March 2026 —the highest ranking ever reached by a Filipina in the modern era.
Her recent run, as Forbes described it, has been “a volley of firsts.”
Among those milestones were becoming the first Filipina to beat two Top 10 players during her Miami Open campaign, the first to reach a WTA Tour final at the Eastbourne International, and the first to win a Grand Slam singles main-draw match at the U.S. Open.
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That was on top of bringing home the first-ever WTA hosting in Manila last January in the Philippine Women's Open in Rizal Memorial Tennis Stadium.
The 21-year-old also ended 2025 with a historic Southeast Asian Games women’s singles gold medal in Bangkok, giving the Philippines its first title in the event since 1999.
Forbes likewise revisited the beginnings of Eala’s rise, noting how the lefthander “first picked up a racket at age 4” before developing into a product of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain.
Long before becoming one of Asia’s most recognizable young athletes, Eala already made history in 2022 by capturing the U.S. Open girls’ title as the first Filipino junior Grand Slam champion.
Now, she adds another achievement to the growing list —becoming one of the entries in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia class.
And despite everything she has already accomplished, Eala admitted she is still taking it all in.
“Honored to be part of this. Still processing this one,” she wrote.
She was named in the honorees alongside other Filipinos like singer and songwriter Zack Tabudlo.
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