Her Wimbledon prize money would have been the biggest paycheck of her career, but Jie Zheng has announced her plans to donate her percentage to earthquake relief in China.
Although she must give a portion of her earnings to the Chinese Tennis Association, the total amount awarded was $373,000 for her semifinal finish.
“I will donate all my portion,” Zheng said. “Apart from that, I will do as much as I can to help the Sichuan region people because I’m from Sichuan province, as well.”
A devastating earthquake in May killed over 60,000 people in China, including thousands in Zheng’s Sichuan province.
“When I go back, I will do more charity work and encourage more people come to support the stricken region and hope people from Sichuan will have their new home as soon as possible,” added Zheng.
