Tennis star Hubert Hurkacz pledges to raise money for Ukraine with every ace he hits at Wimbledon

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Polish tennis star Hubert Hurkacz will be hoping to harness his powerful serve at Wimbledon over the next fortnight as he announced his intention to donate 100 euros ($105.54) to the relief effort in Ukraine for every ace he hits.

“I am pledging to donate 100 euros for every ace I hit at Wimbledon to help support the people of Ukraine. Hope my serve works well! #acesforaid,” the seventh seed announced on Twitter and Instagram.

Hurkacz, 25, has frequently expressed his support for the Ukrainian people.

“My heart is with Ukraine,” he wrote on Instagram in February, captioning a picture of himself at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and a picture of the Ukrainian and Polish flags held aloft side-by-side in the crowd.

At 6ft 5, Hurkacz’s serve forms the basis of his game. So far this season he has hit 452 aces in 39 matches — an average of more than 11 per match — and the third-highest number in the ATP Tour, behind only John Isner and Reilly Opelka.

At Wimbledon last year, his serve was displayed in its full force on a run to the semifinals that included 54 aces in his six matches, before he was eventually defeated by Matteo Berrettini.

Hurkacz begins his tournament on Monday with a first round match against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The 25-year-old arrives at SW19 buoyed by winning his first title of the year — and his first on grass — last week at the Terra Wortmann Open after defeating world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev 6-1 6-4 in the final.

Russia’s Medvedev will not be competing at Wimbledon this year after tournament organizers banned Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ATP and WTA retaliated by removing rankings points from the grand slam.

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