Naomi Osaka on Monday pledged to give more than just this week’s Cincinnati Masters prize money in aid of earthquake victims in her father’s native Haiti.
The natural disaster, which has claimed more than 1,400 victims, prompted an immediate response from world No. 2 Osaka, who had to leave a pre-tournament news conference for a few moments to compose herself after being queried about the Caribbean tragedy, then returned to spell out her personal action plan.
“I’m not really doing that much,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said. “I could do more and I’m trying to figure out where to put my energy. The prize money was the first thing I thought of that would raise the most awareness.”
Photo: AFP
The Japanese-Haitian player called the disaster “really scary.”
“I see there was damage near my parent’s former school,” she added.
Osaka was holding her first traditional news conference since May in Rome.
Her distaste for media questioning emerged at Roland Garros in May when she suggested that the question-answer format was too intrusive, especially after losses, and said she would refrain from them in Paris.
After her first-round win, she answered a few questions on court, but a day later quit the tournament before the second round.
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