World no. 1 Barty to lend winnings from Brisbane Cup to Australia victims

By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Current World number 1 in the Women’s tennis, the Australian Ashleigh Barty announced that she will donate her Brisbane Cup winnings to the victims of the Australia bushfire.

Although the tournament is still ongoing, Barty already gave Aus$30,000 to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to help with the wildlife damaged by the bushfire.

“I think for me this started 2 or 3 months ago. We have to remember, this has been going on for a long time across our whole country,” she said.

Entering the round of 16 and eyeing the title, Barty said that the calamity will be her driving force and motivation to win the prestigious tournament.

With a potential prize pool of US$250,000, Barty said that it will be better for her to take home the prize because she is also planning to donate to the Red Cross.

“And the first I saw of it was actually flying home from the Fed Cup final from Perth back to the east coast of Australia and we could see some of the smoke and some of the fires from the plane, so that really hit home,” Barty added.