Eala makes it to Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ Asia list in 2026

NOT ALL is lost for Alexandra “Alex” Eala.

A day after exiting the French Open, the Filipina tennis sensation Ms. Eala made it to the prestigious “Forbes 30 Under 30” Asia Class of 2026 for Entertainment and Sports as one of only two Filipinos.

Ms. Eala spearheads said category while Filipino singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo is also in the exclusive list curated by the renowned global business magazine in recognition of the most influential people today aged 30 years old and below. Nation’s Girl Group BINI and chess wizard Daniel Quizon last year represented the country in the elite list.

As per Forbes, Ms. Eala was feted owing to her unrivaled impact for Philippine tennis ignited by a grand feat in the 2022 US Open as the first Filipina junior Grand Slam champion in history.

She’s also the first Filipina to enter the Top 100 and Top 50 world rankings with a career-best placing at No. 29 last March. She’s the first Pinay as well to barge into the WTA Tour semifinals and finals, eventually winning a breakthrough title in the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico.

Last year, the graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain netted a gold medal in the 33^rd Southeast Asian Games to snap a 26-year-old drought for Team Philippines as she continues to fly the flag high in the WTA Tour.

Ms. Eala, now WTA No. 37, is coming off a singles exit in the Roland Garros earlier this week after a 6-4, 6-2 defeat at the hands of her good friend Iva Jovic, WTA No. 17.

On Thursday, Ms. Eala with partner Victoria Mboko (WTA No. 9) of Canada pulled out of the doubles play due to an undisclosed reason.

Ms. Mboko, however, was seen with tapes on her right shoulder during a 6-1, 6-2 win over WTA No. 69 Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia, for a possible conservation of energy and to dodge any more serious injury entering a second-round campaign against another Czech ace in Katerina Siniakova.

Spain’s Oksana Selekhmeteva and Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova came in as replacement and stunned the fancied pair of Russia’s Diana Shnaider, doubles No. 18 and No. 23 in singles, and Filipina-Canadian Leylah Fernandez (singles No. 22, doubles No. 81) with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

This paves the way for Ms. Eala to move forward and shift her focus to the grass season starting with the Lexus Birmingham Open on June 1 in England.

Ms. Eala is seeded second in the 125-level tour behind her “SEAster” Janice Tjen of Indonesia. Ms. Tjen, WTA No. 40, also absorbed an early exit in the French Open against WTA No. 25 Emma Navarro of USA, 6-4, 6-3.

It will serve as Ms. Eala’s long buildup for the Wimbledon on June 29 to July 12 in London.

Ms. Eala is hoping for a productive campaign in the grass after quite a struggle on clay courts marked by yet another early boot in Roland Garros for the second straight year.

She had early exits in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open in Austria (second round), the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany (first round), Mutua Madrid Open (second round), and the WTA 500 Strasbourg Open in France, with a third-round finish in the Italian Open serving as her only breakthrough run on the clay. — John Bryan Ulanday