She got next.
Alex Eala has been named one of Time Magazine’s TIME100 Next, which is a list of ‘the world’s most influential rising stars’.
The Filipina tennister joins the list, which includes basketball players Olivia Miles and Tyrese Maxey, American comedians Ashley Padilla and Druski, and advocates Shabana Basij-Rasikh and Wawira Njiru, among others.
Tennis legend Rafa Nadal wrote the entry on Eala, sharing that the Filipina tennister was the first player he shared a tennis court with after his retirement.
‘One day, she asked whether I felt like hitting with her for a while. For the first time in many months, I picked up a racket and played again,’ he said.
Nadal, who owns the Rafa Nadal Academy where Eala graduated from after being a full scholar for five years, looked back with fondness on the Filipina sensation’s beginnings, as well as her meteoric rise in tennis.
‘I’ve been lucky enough to know Alex since she began her journey at Rafa Nadal Academy, and have closely followed her tremendous career. At just 19, Alex beat three Grand Slam champion players at the 2025 Miami Open. This year, she won the WTA 500 tournament, becoming the first player from the Philippines to break into the world’s top 20,’ the article read.
‘And she still has plenty of room to grow. One of her greatest strengths is precisely her ability to listen, learn, and keep improving.’
Still, Eala ‘remains a wonderful person-warm, approachable, and humble.’
‘It isn’t easy to handle becoming a true phenomenon at such a young age, and she deserves a lot of credit for keeping her feet on the ground. Now, all that remains is to keep enjoying watching her progress.’
Eala, now ranked 18th in the world, has been one of the fastest rising stars in the sport.
Now, she is in the midst of an Asian Games run in Japan, where she is set to compete in the semifinal round Thursday afternoon.