Nick Kyrgios, 24, pledged to donate $200 for every ace he serves to bushfire victims.
In his first match of the ATP Cup, he had a 6-4, 7-6 win over German Jan-Lennard Struff and served 20 aces, thus raising $4,000 for the bushfire tragedy gripping Australia.
He broke down in his post-match interview after he was asked about his efforts to help.
“I don’t really care about the praise too much,” Kyrgios said.
“My hometown is Canberra and we have the most toxic air in the world at the moment. It’s pretty sad. It’s tough.”
He revealed that the idea for aces came over the team dinner the night before, when he just “chucked up the tweet”, which was followed by more pledges by tennis players following Kyrgios’ example.
“I woke up this morning and everyone got behind it,” he said.
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Tennis Australia have also announced their support of bushfire victims and launched the ‘Aces for Bushfire Relief’ campaign pledging $100 for every ace served at the ATP Cup along with a $1 million contribution for bushfire-affected communities.
Kyrgios had also suggested a star-studded match taking advantage of tennis stars from around the world in a game for bushfire victims, and it appears that this will also take place after Australian Open Tournament Director and Tennis Australian CEO Craig Tiley announced a willingness to help in the bushfire campaign efforts. The Rod Laver Arena will host a special ‘AO Rally for Relief’ on 15 January.
“The Aces for Bushfire Relief initiative gives the tennis community the opportunity to galvanise our sport to support and raise much needed funds to help those who are most in need,” Tiley said.
The young tennis player was born on 27 April, 1995, could not be happier with these efforts.
Kyrgios is the son of Greek Australian George Kyrgios and Norlaila Kyrgios, who is of Malaysian descent.
