World No 1 tennis star Ashleigh Barty promises to donate her Brisbane prize money to Australian bushfire victims
Australian tennis superstar Ashleigh Barty has declared that she will donate all her prize money from the Brisbane International to families affected by the Australian bushfires. The world number one player reportedly made the announcement at the tournament on January 5, according to Daily Mail.
The bushfire crisis has turned southeast Australia into an apocalyptic nightmare and is only getting worse in the summer months. More than 1,000 homes and nine million acres have been destroyed and around 23 people have been killed.
"Wildlife has been lost but it has also affected lives and homes so I have been sitting down and thinking with my team and family on ways we can help," Barty said. "There have been really great initiatives from cricketers, tennis players, golfers, soccer players all over the country trying to help out. We have come to the decision any of my prize money here in Brisbane will be donated to the [Australian] Red Cross to go towards the families and homes affected."
Barty has reportedly also donated more than $30,000 in 2019 to the RSPCA to help wildlife affected by the national disaster. In the past year, Barty was the highest-earning professional tennis player in 2019 and earned $16.4million in prize money.
The 23-year-old is the latest in a long series of celebrities and sports stars pledging donations to bushfire relief. Tennis player Nick Kyrgios has pledged support for victims of the bushfires.
"I'm kicking off the support for those affected by the fires. I'll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer," the 24-year-old tweeted.
Alex de Minaur, Kyrgios's Australian teammate at the inaugural ATP Cup, joined in pledging to make his own donation, writing, "I like this, I will go $250 per ace, just because I don't think I'll be hitting as many aces as you mate."
Australian veteran Samantha Stosur has also reportedly pledged $200 per ace. Tennis Australia has announced a 'Rally for Relief' exhibition match at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on January 15 ahead of the Australian Open, besides making a $1milion donation to help communities repair and rebuild tennis facilities damaged or lost in the bushfires.