Naomi Osaka has pledged to donate her winnings from next week’s Western & Southern Open to support Haiti, the Caribbean nation her father hails from, in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The four-time Grand Slam champion announced her promise in response to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the impoverished country on Saturday, leaving 1,297 people dead and more than 5,7,000 injured so far.
“It really hurts to see all the devastation that is happening in Haiti, and I feel like we can’t really take a break,” Naomi Osaka said on Twitter .
“I am about to play a tournament this week and I will give all the prize money to help Haiti. I know that the blood of our ancestors is strong, we will continue to rise.”
Osaka, the world number two, whose mother is Japanese and plays under the Japanese flag, has used her platform to draw attention to the causes that concern her.
Among other actions, he wore masks at last year’s US Open with the names of victims of police violence.
Osaka ranks second in the Cincinnati tournament, which runs from August 14-22.