World No. 2 Naomi Osaka pledged to donate her winnings from the upcoming Western & Southern Open toward earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
The women’s competition at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati begins on Monday. Osaka is the No. 2 seed.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean island nation on Saturday, killing at least 300 people.
“Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break,” she posted Saturday on Twitter. “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.”
Osaka, 23, was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother. The four-time Grand Slam winner is competing for the first time since losing in the third round at the Tokyo Olympics last month.
–Field Level Media