Eala makes TIME Risin Stars list

MANILA, Philippines — The world has taken notice of tennis ace Alex Eala, who has made inroads in the sport and captured the imagination of the Philippine diaspora.

TIME magazine has named the 21-year-old phenom one of the world’s most influential rising stars, alongside the likes of Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar and British singer-songwriter Raye.

The magazine selected 100 people for its annual TIME100 Next list who “seem to have come out of nowhere, somehow magicking themselves into the culture, seizing the zeitgeist, or leapfrogging their industries with little advance notice,” according to editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs. The magazine has been publishing the list since 2019.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal penned the tribute to his protégé, saying that he was “lucky enough” to have followed Eala’s career from her time as a student at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain.

“One of her greatest strengths is precisely her ability to listen, learn and keep improving,” Nadal said of Eala. “But perhaps more importantly, Alex remains a wonderful person—warm, approachable and humble.”

“It isn’t easy to handle becoming a true phenomenon at such a young age,” Nadal went on, “and she deserves a lot of credit for keeping her feet on the ground.”

Tennis officials have noticed that Eala has drawn crowds from the Filipino diaspora ever since moving up the WTA rankings.

Canadian Open tournament director Alex Hale told sports outlet The Athletic that her sold-out opening match in August was “really unheard of” since it was on a Wednesday.

Despite reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 18 and winning a WTA 500 title at the Mubadala DC Open, Eala “still has plenty of room to grow,” Nadal believes.

“Now, all that remains is to keep enjoying watching her progress,” he said.