Top-ranked Ash Barty donating Brisbane winnings to Australian wildfire relief

Ash Barty was flying home across Australia following the Fed Cup final when she saw the early signs of devastation from the wildfires that are still raging in large parts of the vast island continent.

So the problem hasn’t just dawned on her, the highest-profile tennis player in Australia, like it might have for some players arriving for the season-opening events. But the scale and gravity of the situation is really hitting home. With Australia in the grip of its worst wildfire season in recorded history and with a human death toll of 24, the the top-ranked player is donating prize money she wins at the Brisbane International, her home tournament, to the Australian Red Cross for the recovery effort. The winner of the tournament, which starts Monday, will earn more than $250,000.

“It’s been really terrible, it really has. For me, this started two or three months ago,” Barty said of the damage caused by what Australians commonly call bush fires. “We have to remember, this has been going on for a long time across our whole country.”

Actors, athletes, entertainers and everyday citizens have contributed millions of dollars in pledges to the relief effort, and organizers of sports events are setting up fundraising events. Australian Open organizers will hold a special charity event Jan. 15, five days before the season’s first major begins in Melbourne.

Lazio wins match

marred by racism

Ciro Immobile and Lazio started the new year as they ended 2019 as the forward scored twice to help his side to a ninth straight Serie A victory but the match was blighted by yet another incident of racism in Italian soccer.

Third-place Lazio fought back from a goal...