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Naomi Osaka opened up about the wildfires threatening her Los Angeles home while she's competing in the Australian Open.
Osaka took home a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against Caroline Garcia in the Australian Open first round but said her thoughts are with Los Angeles as the city deals with mass devastation from several wildfires.
The tennis star, who is seeking third Australian Open title, revealed she had someone retrieve her daughter's birth certification after finding out the wildfires were "three blocks from my house."
“I was watching the fire map, and the fire is like three blocks from my house. So I had someone go and get my daughter’s birth certificate and all that because I didn’t know what would happen if that burned down,” Osaka said following her first-round win.
“Sending all my love to LA. I know we hear about fires, but for me in particular, I didn’t know how devastating it could be. I just hope everyone’s doing well and I’m sending them all my love.”
Osaka, donning a Los Angeles hat and Lakers jersey, later fielded questions about how she's been able to keep focus amid the wildfires.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve been doing the greatest keeping focus, but obviously I won, so I think it’s an acceptable job,” she said during a press conference.
“It is really difficult for me because I think it’s tougher now because I find my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter, and there’s so many things like keepsakes and stuff like that, and obviously you can’t hoard them all when you’re asking someone to go to your house and just grab stuff," Osaka continued. “So it is really tough in that sense, and I’m not there, so I don’t know how bad it is or how bad it’s going to get, but I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.”
Osaka noted that she's been checking wildfire updates any chance she gets.
“I don’t think I’ll go back to LA immediately after,” Osaka said. “I don’t feel like it’s safe enough to go back there, so it’s kind of a little bit in a limbo, but also motivating me to hopefully stay here as long as I can.”
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