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Tennis

Naomi Osaka Planning to Donate Cincinnati Prize Money to Haitian Earthquake Relief

Naomi Osaka will soon take part in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, and she won’t be keeping any prize money to herself if she comes out victorious. The tennis champion pledged to donate all of her winnings to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Osaka, who happens to be half-Haitian on her father’s side, made a pledge on her Twitter and promised she’ll do everything in her power to help the victims of a devastating earthquake, that killed over 300 people and injured hundreds more. "Really hurts to see all the devastation that's going on in Haiti, 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 [sic] blood is strong we'll keep rising," wrote Osaka. This announcement comes shortly after the 23-year-old player failed to score the medal at the Tokyo Olympics, where she represented Japan. Despite her disappointing loss at the Olympics, Osaka is currently ranked number two in the world, and she could be awarded with $255,220 as a women's singles winner in Cincinnati. The Western and Southern Open is kicking off on Monday and it will run until August 22.