MASON, Ohio (AP) — Along with donating prize cash to reduction efforts in Haiti following a lethal earthquake, tennis star Naomi Osaka stated she plans to do extra.
“I really feel like I’m not likely doing that a lot,” Osaka stated on Monday. “I’m attempting to determine what I can do. The prize cash factor was the very first thing I assumed I may do that might increase essentially the most consciousness. I suppose that’s the reason I introduced it.”
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the area on Saturday, with an estimated dying toll of 1,400.
On Saturday evening, Osaka tweeted her decision to donate her prize cash from this week’s U.S. Open tune-up event in Ohio.
Osaka, who has a Haitian father and Japanese mom, has an opening-round bye in Cincinnati. She’s going to face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Coco Gauff and qualifier Hsieh Su-Wei.
When requested about Haiti throughout Monday’s information convention, Osaka turned emotional and needed to step away for a couple of minutes earlier than returning to reply extra questions.
Haiti can also be coping with the fallout from final month’s assassination of president Jovenel Moise, and now the consequences of a tropical storm which is hampering earthquake restoration efforts.
“It’s actually scary,” Osaka stated. “I see the information each day, and actually the earthquake was type of near my mother and father’ faculty there, so I’m actually not likely positive how that’s doing and I haven’t seen any photos or video of it but.”
Osaka, who’s ranked No. 2 on the planet, gained her second profession Australian Open earlier this 12 months, however withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon due to psychological well being considerations.
“It was one thing I wanted to do for myself,” Osaka stated. “I used to be somewhat bit embarrassed to exit as a result of I didn’t know if folks had been taking a look at me otherwise. The largest eye-opener was going to the Olympics and having different athletes come as much as me and say that they had been actually glad that I did what I did. I am happy with what I did.”
Osaka additionally stated she reached out to U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who withdrew from the U.S. ladies’s workforce last in Tokyo for her personal psychological well being wants.
“I despatched her a message,” Osaka stated. “I additionally needed to offer her house as a result of I understand how overwhelming it might probably really feel.”
Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron within the opening ceremony in Tokyo, stated she took break day after returning and stated she’s motivated to do nicely in Cincinnati after having to withdraw from final 12 months’s occasion with a hamstring damage.
The Western & Southern Open is taken into account a tune-up for the US Open, which begins Aug. 30 in New York.
“I felt like I performed nicely in Tokyo,” Osaka stated. “However there was nonetheless some selections that I didn’t make that nicely, so I simply needed to get that feeling again as a result of I actually haven’t performed many matches this 12 months. I suppose I’ll see how nicely I do on this event and type of lead it on from there into New York.”
Extra AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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