Australian Open 2025: Taylor Fritz donates $82,000 prize money to LA fires victims
Sports. Tennis. Fritz, who lives in California, made the gesture after reaching the Melbourne third round by beating Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
American world number four TaylorFritzsaid Thursday (Jan 16) he will donate his $82,000 first-round prize money from the Australian Open to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, calling the devastation "insane".
Fritz, who lives in California, made the gesture after reaching the Melbourne third round by beating Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
First-round prize money is Aus$132,000 (US$82,000).
"I just want everyone to obviously stay safe, it's just insane what has happened," said the 27-year-old.
"I'm going to be donating my first-round prize money to LA wildfire relief funds.
"It's really the least I can do. Southern California is my home and LA was my home for a long time.
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"I'm just doing what I can possibly do to help and I would encourage anyone else who can donate to help because a lot of people really need it."
The deady fires began more than a week ago, fanned by hurricane-force gusts that have left two dozen people dead and large areas of the city in ruins.
Also Read: Australian Open 2025: Elena Rybakina makes light work of Iva Jovic; Iga Swiatek eases into third round
Other players supporting the cause
Several other players, including Coco Gauff, Madison KeysandJessica Pegula, have expressed shock and praised firefighters for their efforts.
One-time LA area resident Keys donated $20,000 to the city's fire department "in support of the incredibly brave firefighters working tirelessly to protect the community".
Pegula, founder of the dog rescue charity A Lending Paw, has been sharing ways to help the hundreds of animals displaced by the fires to her online followers.
Naomi Osaka, who represents Japan but lives in Los Angeles, said on Monday that wildfires were "three blocks" from her house.
Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.