NEW YORK — Alex Eala has earned a glowing tribute from idol Rafael Nadal after becoming the only tennis player selected to TIME's 2026 Time100 Next list, the magazine's annual ranking of the 100 "most influential rising stars." The 21-year-old Filipina, currently at a career-high world No. 18, was named in the Innovators category, one of five groups alongside Phenoms, Artists, Leaders and Advocates.
Writing in a tribute piece published on the TIME website, Nadal revealed Eala was the first player he shared a court with after retirement. "Alexandra Eala was the first player I shared a tennis court with after my retirement," Nadal wrote. "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. I've been lucky enough to know Alex since she began her journey at Rafa Nadal Academy, and have closely followed her tremendous career."
The 22-time Grand Slam champion added: "She still has plenty of room to grow. One of her greatest strengths is precisely her ability to listen, learn, and keep improving. 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."
Eala, who holds a 40-22 record in what has been a hugely impressive 2026 season and won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Washington Open in August, previously spoke about her connection to Nadal during the Italian Open in May. "Of course, meeting Rafa and just being able to to kind of converse with him on a quite a regular basis is crazy to me," Eala told Tennis Channel. "And you know, sometimes I'm coached by Toni [Nadal]. If you told me that when I was younger, there's no way I would have believed you."