Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has pledged to donate $1000 for every ace he hits at this week’s Mexican Open to a fundraiser set up to support the recovery effort from Hurricane Otis.
Last October Hurricane Otis caused widespread devastation to Alcapulco, which is where the Mexican Open is staged. According to Reuters, 52 people were killed and most of the city’s resort hotels were significantly damaged. The cost of damage was estimated to be in the region of $22M based on an El Pais report published on November 1st. 25,000 Mexican soldiers have also been sent to the region since the hurricane and there are ongoing issues with crime. Prompting the Mexican Open to issue an advisory to their players urging them not to go off-site due to the threat of crime, as well as poor infrastructure.
Throwing his support behind Acapulco, Tsitsipas has opted to take part in fundraising efforts. He is the fifth seed in this year’s ATP 500 event and a former runner-up back in 2021.
“Very good to be back, happy that the tournament is still going strong, it is something we did not expect after the tragedy of a few months ago,” Tsitsipas told reporters earlier this week.
“It gives me happiness that so many people came together and made this possible to return everything to this beautiful city of Acapulco. I am here with my tennis to give the best I can to the communities”.
Significant efforts have taken place to get this week’s tournament restored following the hurricane. According to the Mexican newspaper Milenio, more than 200 million pesos and 35 companies were involved in the restoration. Furthermore, tournament director Geoffrey Fernández has claimed that his event has helped generate more than 11,000 jobs.
“We work with the community, with our thousands of collaborators and families united by the same cause: moving Acapulco forward. We have achieved a lot together and together with the federal, state and municipal governments to make this event one of the best.” Fernández recently told Caras.
“The response (from players) has been wonderful, no one has cancelled, and they have helped a lot in making the decision to go (ahead).” He added.
On the opening day of the Mexican Open, there was a duo of shocks with seeds Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz suffering first round exits. Paul was ousted in three sets by British rising star Jack Draper and Fritz was beaten by Matteo Arnaldi.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas will play his first match on Tuesday against Roman Safiullin.
