# Alex Eala's Breakout Year Lands Her on Fortune's Women to Watch in Asia

> The Filipino tennis player climbed into the world's top 20, won her first WTA title, and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, earning a spot on a list celebrating influence well beyond the boardroom.

- Source: VUUQUE
- Canonical URL: https://vuuque.com/article/alex-eala-fortune-influential-women-asia
- Author: VUUQUE Editorial
- Section: Culture
- Published: 2026-10-05T23:06:26.960Z
- Updated: 2026-10-05T23:06:26.960Z
- Tags: Alex Eala, Tennis, Fortune, Women in Sports

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Alex Eala has had the kind of year that turns a rising player into a genuine contender. The Filipino tennis player won her first WTA Tour title in Washington, D.C. in 2026, broke into the world's top 20 after entering the year ranked 54th, and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, the best result by any Filipino player in the tournament's history. That run of results has earned her a place on Fortune's list of ten influential women to watch across Asia, a roundup built around impact in sports, culture, science and public life rather than corporate leadership alone.

## A list spanning courts, kitchens and spacecraft

Eala shares the list with a notably varied group of honorees. South Korean badminton player An Se-young, 24, is the reigning world No. 1 and an Olympic champion who lost only once in 57 matches in 2026. Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul enters the year as LPGA Player of the Year after posting the lowest single-season scoring average in the tour's history. Elsewhere on the list, Hong Kong's Lai Ka-ying became the first Hong Kong resident in space aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission in May 2026, while Japanese actress Tao Okamoto became the first Japanese woman to win the Best Actress award at Cannes.

## Recognition built on the court, not the boardroom

What ties the list together is its explicit framing: these are women whose influence comes from fields outside traditional business leadership, from sport and conservation work to film and philanthropy. For Eala, still just breaking into tennis's elite tier, the recognition arrives at a moment when her results are climbing fast enough that this list may be one of the more modest acknowledgments she receives before the year is out.

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Originally published by VUUQUE. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://vuuque.com/article/alex-eala-fortune-influential-women-asia.