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Naomi Osaka during practice on Sunday ahead of the Western and Southern Open.
Naomi Osaka during practice on Sunday ahead of the Western and Southern Open. Photograph: Rob Prange/REX/Shutterstock
Naomi Osaka during practice on Sunday ahead of the Western and Southern Open. Photograph: Rob Prange/REX/Shutterstock

Naomi Osaka to donate prize earnings to Haiti earthquake relief efforts

This article is more than 2 years old

Tennis star, who is of Haitian and Japanese descent, will play in the Western and Southern Open, which has a $255,220 prize

The tennis star Naomi Osaka has announced that she will donate prize earnings from her next tournament to support relief efforts in Haiti, where a 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed at least 1,297 people over the weekend and injured more than 5,700.

Osaka, who is of Haitian and Japanese descent, made the announcement on Twitter on Sunday.

“Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti,” she wrote, “and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. 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.”

The 23-year old four-time Grand Slam champion will play in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, which begins on Monday. The tournament is expected to award the women’s singles winner $255,220. The runner-up will receive $188,945.

Osaka, seeded No 2 with a bye into the second round, will be playing her first tournament since the Tokyo Olympics, where she lost in the third round to Marketa Vondrousova. That performance came months after she pulled out of the French Open and the Australian Open, citing mental health concerns.

Osaka has used her growing platform to bring attention to issues including police violence, racial justice and stigmas surrounding mental health.

Saturday’s earthquake struck the south-western part of Haiti, destroying towns and triggering immense landslides.

“There are many people injured. The hospitals are overwhelmed. Some are treating people on the floor; some are just sending people back homes,” said Akim Kikonda, an air worker from the Catholic Relief Services.

The damages are expected to worsen, as Tropical Storm Grace is predicted to reach the country late on Monday or early Tuesday, bringing torrential rainfall that may trigger flooding and mudslides.

Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, declared a one-month state of emergency and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damage was known. He also called for “structural solidarity” to ensure the relief response was coordinated to avoid the confusion that followed a devastating earthquake in 2010, when aid was slow to reach residents.

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