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Alex Eala, Zack Tabudlo

Reyma Deveza

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1779945496236eala.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><p>MANILA (UPDATE) — Philippine tennis star Alex Eala and singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo were among those included in the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ranawehbe/2026/05/27/30-under-30-asias-next-icons-the-gen-z-athletes-and-music-artists-rewriting-the-playbook/?utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB&amp;utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawSEbfZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFpWTlmUWNlcHFQYkRCOXBZc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsT0AhGNzuYkT5cU8ZeE74RzG1PfDcY1YFlSSqQuB3kG3LkBR9euHfMzHSjk_aem_o0OAvAtEFY_InATHhy60OA">Forbes Asia &quot;30 Under 30&quot; list.</a></p><p>The two young Filipinos were recognized under the Entertainment &amp; Sports category &quot;spotlighting the next generation of talent — on court and the screen.&quot;</p><p>In the article published by Forbes, Eala shared via an e-mail that &quot;the support has been incredible.”</p><p>“Tennis can sometimes feel quiet and serious, so having that energy makes it special,” added Eala, who started playing tennis at age 4.</p><p>The Forbes report reads: &quot;A representative for Eala says she was the highest-earning Filipino tennis player of all time last year based on prize money totaling $876,000 while her endorsements, including from Nike, French sports equipment maker Babolat and Philippine food conglomerate NutriAsia, exceeded $1 million and are expected to rise to $3 million this year.&quot;</p><p>A milestone that made her part of the Forbes list was when she made it to the world’s Top 30 WTA rankings, peaking at World No. 29.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2-ItBmLxQ/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A7644086.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1347" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-6" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Tabudlo, meanwhile, was named for being &quot; the most-streamed Philippine artist of 2022, according to Spotify figures.&quot; </p><p>Briefly charting the &quot;Give Me Your Forever&quot; hitmaker&#x27;s career, Forbes identified him as a former contestant on &quot;The Voice Kids.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Tabudlo embarked on a Southeast Asia tour in 2024 and signed with Mercury Records under the Universal Music Group in 2025,&quot; it added.</p><p>Joining Eala and Tabudlo on the list were golfer Shannon Tan, athlete Wu Yanni, and sprinter Gout Gout.</p><p>Also named were K-pop groups i-dle, NMIXX, and Cortis, along with Korean dancer-choreographer Leejung Lee, Indonesian girl group no na, and Singaporean artists Regina Song and Iman Fandi.</p><div><strong>Other categories</strong></div><p>Outside of sports and entertainment, Filipinos were also included in the other 30 Under 30 categories, such as Pauline Dizon and Adrian Jumangit under the Retail and Commerce category.</p><p>Dizon and Jumangit were cited for being co-founders of Fan Connection SEA (FanConSEA), which Forbes described as &quot;a fandom-based business that deals with merchandise licensing, bookings and live events.&quot;</p><p>Also on the list were Martin Joaquin Palaña and Kiyanusch Braun, who co-founded GoRocky, a Philippines-based men&#x27;s health platform that tackles issues such as erectile dysfunction and hair loss.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kharl Christian Yeung was named for founding the Philippines-based pet food company Amico Innovations, where he also serves as chief operating officer.</p><p>In the Consumer &amp; Enterprise Technology category, Forbes included Brandon Angelo Wong and Raphael Sevilla, who along with Paul Soliman (who is over 30), co-founded BayaniChain Tech.</p><p>The company &quot;builds blockchain systems for governments and companies to improve transparency, secure data and reduce corruption&quot; and has worked with the Department of Budget and Management, according to Forbes.</p><p>It also &quot;helped drive legislation in the Philippines promoting blockchain use to safeguard public funds.&quot;</p><p>Three Filipinos were also included in the Social Impact category: Saje Miguel Molato, Steph Naval and Emmanuel Mirus Ponon.</p><p>Molato is the founder of Siklab, a consulting firm aimed at helping &quot;young people become more globally competitive.&quot;</p><p>Siklab also works &quot;with government, nonprofit and private sector partners on education, skills development and climate programs.&quot;</p><p>Naval, on the other hand, launched Empath, described as &quot;a social enterprise that provides online counseling, psychotherapy and psychiatric consultations to schools, workplaces and non-profit organizations.&quot;</p><p>The platform was inspired by Naval&#x27;s own struggles with mental health during her teenage years.</p><p>Poron founded the ASEAN Youth Advocates Network, an organization that encourages Southeast Asian youth to participate in &quot; policy making, peacebuilding and sustainable development&quot; through leadership programs, campaigns and regional dialogues.</p><div><strong></strong><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C4SG9USU5aI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hwHKAIUxYjk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Philippine tennis star Alex Eala and singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo were among those included in the Forbes Asia "30 Under 30" list.</p>

Philippine tennis star Alex Eala and singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo were among those included in the Forbes Asia "30 Under 30" list.

Alex Eala, Zack Tabudlo make it to Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30' list

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Alex Eala, Zack Tabudlo make it to Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30' list

Reyma Deveza,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 28, 2026 09:31 AM PHT

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Updated May 28, 2026 03:08 PM PHT

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Alex Eala

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Forbes 30 Under 30

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