Tennis star Naomi Osaka has promised to donate her earnings from the U.S. Open warm-up tournament to help earthquake relief efforts for her father’s native country of Haiti.
Close to 1,300 died in Haiti when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the region. The death toll is likely to increase.
“Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break,” Osaka said in a tweet. “I’m about to play a tournament this week, and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors’ blood is strong, we’ll keep rising.”
According to perfect-tennis.com, the Western and Southern ATP Tournament women’s singles champion receives $255,220 and the runner-up receives $188,945. The event is held in Cincinnati.
Sources: www.afrotech.com, www.thejasminebrand.com, www.bet.com, www.washingtonpost.com
