In addition to donating prize money to relief efforts in Haiti following a deadly earthquake, tennis star Naomi Osaka said she plans to do more.
“I feel like I’m not really doing that much,” Osaka said yesterday [Macau time]. “I’m trying to figure out what I can do. The prize money thing was the first thing I thought I could do that would raise the most awareness. I guess that is the reason I announced it.”
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the region on Saturday, with an estimated death toll of 1,400.
On Saturday night, Osaka tweeted her decision to donate her prize money from this week’s U.S. Open tune-up tournament in Ohio.
Osaka, who has a Haitian father and Japanese mother, has an opening-round bye in Cincinnati. She will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Coco Gauff and qualifier Hsieh Su-Wei.
When asked about Haiti during a news conference, Osaka became emotional and had to step away for a few minutes before returning to answer more questions.
Haiti is also dealing with the fallout from last month’s assassination of president Jovenel Moise, and now the effects of a tropical storm which is hampering earthquake recovery efforts.
“It’s really scary,” Osaka said. “I see the news every day, and honestly the earthquake was kind of close to my parents’ school there, so I’m honestly not really sure how that’s doing and I haven’t seen any pictures or video of it yet.”
Osaka, who is ranked No. 2 in the world, won her second career Australian Open earlier this year, but withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon because of mental health concerns. MDT/AP
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