The Tamesis
From breaking field records to packing arenas to bringing Asian style abroad, this year’s 30 Under 30 list of Asian entertainment and sports stars is unstoppable.
oneAlexandra Ella get After she broke into the top 50 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) last year, Filipinos became more enthusiastic about tennis. In March 2026, she rose to No. 29, becoming the highest-ranked player in modern U.S. history, before falling back to No. 44 in April. Her recent career has been marked by a string of firsts: last year, she became the first Filipino to defeat two top-10 players (Miami Open, March); reach a WTA Tour final (Eastbourne International, June); and win a Grand Slam singles main draw (U.S. Open, August). She capped 2025 by winning the women’s singles title at the Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, the Philippines’ first women’s singles title since 1999, before defeating veteran Venus Williams and her doubles partner at the ASB Classic in Auckland in January.
Tennis can sometimes feel quiet and serious, so having that energy makes it special.
Eala is on this year’s list Forbes Asia 30 Under 30: Entertainment and Sports List They are shaping the future of pop culture and sports in Asia.
The 20-year-old enjoys the support of an enthusiastic Filipino diaspora wherever he plays. “The support has been incredible,” she said in an email. “Tennis can feel quiet and serious sometimes, so having that energy makes it special.” The southpaw first picked up a racket at age 4 and is a product of Spain’s Rafael Nadal Academy. In 2022, she won the US Open women’s championship and became the first Filipino junior Grand Slam singles champion, which attracted people’s attention.
A rep for Eala said she was the highest-paid Filipino tennis player of all time last year, with prize money totaling $876,000, while her endorsements, which include Nike, French sports equipment maker Babolat and Philippine food group NutriAsia, exceeded $1 million and are expected to rise to $3 million this year.
Another groundbreaking Southeast Asian athlete was Shannon Chen. The 21-year-old golfer became the first Singaporean to win a Money Medal on the Ladies European Tour in 2025. That same year, she also competed in the Amundi Evian Championship, where she tied for 59th, and the Women’s British Open, where she tied for 40th. In 2023, she won the inaugural Singapore Women’s Masters, part of the China Women’s Professional Golf Association Tour. Ms Tan played golf at Texas Tech University before turning professional in 2024, when she represented Singapore at the Paris Olympics.
Singaporean golfer Shannon Chan.
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Several athletes from other parts of the region continue to dominate the field, earning them a spot on this year’s Asia 30 Under 30 list.
Wu Yanni He is one of the fastest hurdlers in Asia and is becoming a leader in Chinese track and field. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she set the best result in Chinese history in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, cementing her reputation as a top international athlete. As the national record holder, Wu won the bronze medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships with a time of 13.07 seconds and had previously reached a world ranking of 23rd, the highest result achieved by a Chinese woman in the event.
In Australia, sprinters gout gout He made headlines in 2025 when he set an Oceania record in the 200m with a time of 20.02 seconds, and at the age of 17 he was compared to reigning world record holder Usain Bolt. A few months before his win, Gut signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas worth A$6 million ($4.1 million) that will run until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
K-pop’s dominance continues
When it comes to music, K-pop still dominates so far, with three K-pop bands making the list this year.
idle, The girl group (G)I-dle, founded by Cube Entertainment in 2018, is one of them. Members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, Shuhua and Soojin made their debut with the song “Latata” and went on to release multiple chart-topping albums and have approximately 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Soojin left the group in 2021. In 2025, the group changed their name to I-dle and released their eighth EP “We Are”, which sold more than 1 million copies in the first week. In the same year, he also won the Grand Prize at the 34th Seoul Music Awards.
Korean pop band I-dle.
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Another female K-pop star is Nmixx. The sextet was created by JYP Entertainment in 2022 with the release of the single album “Ad Mare”. Its six members – Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin – were recognized for their fusion music “Mixx Pop”, which combines various genres including pop, rock, hip-hop and electronic music. In October last year, the group’s first studio album “Blue Valentine” almost topped the Korean Circle album chart and won ten music awards.
CurtisDerived from the phrase “colorout thelines”, they are a five-member K-pop boy group created in 2025 by Big Hit Music, a label owned by Hybe. This is the first boy group launched by Hybe subsidiary in six years, following BTS and Tomorrow X Together. Members Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon and Keonho are known as a “young creative team” rather than a traditional idol group, and they all have choreographic or production roles in their debut EP “Color Outside the Lines”, which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and ranked No. 1 in first-week sales among 2025 rookie groups.
In addition to the band, Li ZhengzhengThe Korean choreographer and dancer who created the dance for “Soda Pop” in Netflix’s 2025 hit anime “KPop Demon Hunters” also made the list. She was the first female member of the dance group Just Jerk Crew and has helped choreograph performances for K-pop groups such as Blackpink and TWice. Lee regularly posts dance videos to her 2.6 million followers on Instagram.
Up-and-coming Southeast Asian artists
There is no shortage of musical talent in Southeast Asia, either.
This year’s list is Sodium freeIt is an Indonesian girl group signed by 88rising. After releasing the single in May 2025 and making her live debut the following month at the agency’s Head In the Clouds festival in Los Angeles, No Na has surpassed 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Taking its name from the Indonesian word “nona” (a term for a young woman), members Christy, Baila, Esther and Shaz incorporate elements of Indonesian culture such as traditional dances and phrases into their music. The band’s latest single, “Rollerblade,” was released in April and has racked up 3.3 million views on YouTube.
Indonesian band No Na.
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singapore artist Regina SongHer alternative pop songs have been played more than 90 million times on Spotify, helping her become the only Singaporean nominee for the inaugural Japan Music Awards in 2025. Song is best known for his hit TikTok single “The Cutest Couple” and went on a Southeast Asia tour in 2025, performing in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila.
Another Singaporean artist on the list is Iman Vandy, WHO In 2021, she made her musical debut with Timeframe under Universal Music Singapore. She left the label after five years and released her first independent single “Tip Toes” in February. She is currently preparing to release her debut independent EP later this year.
Singaporean singer Iman Fandi.
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filipino pop star Zach TaboudreauHis songs “Pano” and “Give Me Your Forever” went viral shortly after their release in 2021, making him the most streamed Filipino artist in 2022, according to Spotify. Tabudlo was a contestant on “The Voice Kids” in 2014. He will start a Southeast Asian tour in 2024 and sign a contract with Mercury Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, in 2025. In September, he returned to “The Voice” as a coach, and his disciple Sofia Mallares was named the winner.
Read our full Entertainment and Sports list here – And be sure to check out our full content Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 2026 Coverage here.
