American tennis star Taylor Fritz has pledged to donate his Australian Open prize money to the LA fires relief fund
American tennis star Taylor Fritz is the latest athlete to contribute to wildfire relief funds in the greater Los Angeles area.
Fritz, 27, said Thursday he was donating the prize money he earned for his first-round win at Australian Open – about $82,000 – according to relief funds.
“I mean, I feel like it’s the least I can do,” Fritz said.
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Taylor Fritz acknowledges the crowd after his match against Jenson Brooksby in the men’s singles first round at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. (Mike Frey-Imagn images)
Fritz was born in Rancho Santa Fe, California and still resides in that state.
“Obviously ‘SoCal’ has always been my home. I still spend a lot of time in LA, but I lived in LA a lot. My friends were affected, family not so much. I had part of the family that had to evacuate. The house where my brothers grew up burned down, obviously, they don’t live there anymore,” Fritz said after reaching the third round at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 win over qualifier Cristiano Garín from Chile.
“A lot of people are affected by it. I feel like if you’re in a place to help, then you should.”
Authorities have not determined the cause of the massive fires in what is on track to become the country’s costliest fire disaster, with at least 27 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed.
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Taylor Fritz hits a forehand during his match against Cristian Garin in the second round of the men’s singles tournament at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. (Mike Frey-Images)
Fritz isn’t the only tennis player with ties to the Los Angeles area competing at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time major championsaid she had sent someone to retrieve her 1 1/2-year-old daughter’s birth certificate from their home in California in case it caught fire.
Tristan Boyer, a 23-year-old from California who won the first round but lost Thursday, said his father had to evacuate their home in Altadena.
“We have friends and family that are now homeless. It’s really, really devastating to see,” Boyer said. “Obviously, I’m trying to do what I need to do to prepare and play tennis, but I’m controlling what I can control at the moment. But it’s definitely difficult.”
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Taylor Fritz hits a forehand during his match against Cristian Garin in the second round of the men’s singles tournament at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. (Mike Frey-Images)
Fritz, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, will face Gaël Monfils on Saturday for a place in the fourth round, but his mind will still be on what’s happening at home.
“I just want everybody to obviously stay safe,” Fritz said.
– It is simply crazy what happened.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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