Osaka pledges support for Haiti earthquake relief

NEW YORK — Tennis star Naomi Osaka pledged her support for relief efforts in Haiti on Aug. 14 following a deadly earthquake in the Caribbean country.

Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese, said she would donate her prize money from the upcoming Western & Southern Open to help people affected by the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti earlier in the day.

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

World No. 2 Osaka will enter from the second round of the Western & Southern Open, which begins Aug. 16 in Cincinnati. The 23-year-old returned to the court at the Tokyo Olympics late last month for the first time since withdrawing from the French Open in May.