Wimbledon surprise packet Zheng Jie has announced she will donate her portion of the prize money she earns at The Championships to victims of the Chinese earthquake in her own Sichuan province in May, which killed over 60,000 people.
"I will donate my entire 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."
Her efforts so far have guaranteed her prize money of £187,500 (US$373,000) and winning the final on Saturday could take that up to £750,000 (US$1,496,000). After assigning a share of the prize money to the Chinese tennis federation, her remaining portion will go straight to a cause close to her heart.
"Going back to China after Wimbledon I will do more charity work and encourage more people to come and support the stricken region, and I hope people from Sichuan will have their new homes as soon as possible."
The news of her donation has received widespread media coverage in China, which is just over a month from hosting the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Zheng, who will be celebrating her 25th birthday on Saturday, has surprised the tennis world by reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, and she has broken records along the way: ranked No.133 in the world, she is the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam, the first wildcard to get so far in the Wimbledon ladies' singles event and only the second player ranked outside the Top 100 to get to this point in the tournament.
Having won the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2006 with partner, Yan Zi, she believes there has been much more support for her this year.
"It was very exciting in 2006 but it was also during the same time as the World Cup football and it wasn’t received as sensationally as a football match. But Wimbledon is a very historical tournament, and it has far reached affection in China."
Zheng was surprised at being told that she was the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament and has had huge support from her country where her quarterfinal victory over Nicole Vaidisova was watched by millions of TV viewers in the early hours of the morning. On Thursday she will face two-time former Wimbledon champion Serena Williams whom she has met once before at Wimbledon in 2004 and lost.
"Serena, with no doubt, is an outstanding player, and so far I haven't found any weak link about her. But as my first time to enter the semifinal, I would rather now enjoy the game than anything else."
