Alexandra "Alex" Eala's global rise reached another high, with the Filipina tennis star landing a place on the elite "TIME100 NEXT: The World's Most Influential Rising Stars" list in the middle of her golden bid at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the continent's premier multi-sport event held every four years.

TIME Magazine, one of the United States' top publications known for listing the world's most powerful, influential, wealthiest, and greatest people, unveiled the next-generation list on Thursday — an offshoot of its flagship TIME100 franchise reserved for rising stars from around the world — adding the 21-year-old Filipina pride to another chapter of national history beyond sports.

Ms. Eala is listed in the Innovators category, where she stands as the only tennis player in the world on the list. Other athletes featured include Olivia Miles (women's basketball), Arch Manning (American football), Folarin Balogun and Naomi Girma (football), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (cricket), and Tyrese Maxey (basketball), among a select group.

Her inclusion is buoyed by a banner year that catapulted her to No. 18 in the WTA world rankings — the tour's weekly ladder built on a rolling 52-week points system — the highest ever recorded by any Filipino player of any gender.

The momentum is not stopping at the TIME Magazine feature. Ms. Eala has also paved the way for another Philippine milestone: a WTA 250 event in Manila. The Philippine Tennis Association confirmed on Thursday the country's addition to the 2027 WTA calendar, finally securing a tour-level 250 event in November 2027 — the first of its kind on Philippine soil — on top of its second year of hosting a 125-level tournament in January 2027, giving local fans two home dates to circle on the calendar.

The 125 is a challenger-level tier in the WTA structure and does not count as an official tour title, while the 250 — the entry level of the WTA Tour below the 1000s and the Grand Slams — does. Ms. Eala owns two 125 titles in her blossoming career but was only officially named a WTA champion this year, after winning the WTA 500 DC Open in August.

Earlier this year, Ms. Eala inspired the nation by headlining the historic WTA 125 Philippine Women's Open, where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Camila Osorio of Colombia.

According to TIME, Ms. Eala earned her place after reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and the third round of the US Open, along with winning the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington and the WTA 125 Birmingham Lexus Birmingham Open in England.

Ms. Eala first broke through on the world tennis scene in 2025 with a Cinderella run to the Miami Open Final Four as a wildcard, capped by victories over three Grand Slam champions. She was also named the WTA's "Star of the Swing" for the grass and hard-court stretch, a recognition of her unparalleled following and popularity as one of the world's tennis darlings.

Sweetening the feat further, 40-year-old Spanish legend Rafael Nadal himself penned Ms. Eala's chronicle for the prestigious publication.

"Alexandra (Eala) was the first player I shared a tennis court with after my 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," said Mr. Nadal, referring to his training session with Ms. Eala last year, after retiring in 2024 with 22 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals.

"I've been lucky enough to know Alex since she began her journey at Rafa Nadal Academy, and have closely followed her tremendous career. And she still has plenty of room to grow. One of her greatest strengths is precisely her ability to listen, learn, and keep improving."

For Mr. Nadal — Ms. Eala's mentor since her junior days, when she left the Philippines to chase what once seemed an unreachable star on the unforgiving international tennis circuit — the recognition is about more than her game.

"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, 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."

Aside from Ms. Eala, Filipino-American actress Isa Briones also made the elite list, with Emmy winner and The Pitt co-star Katherine LaNasa penning her blurb. — John Bryan Ulanday