ITF, Grand Slam tournaments pledge $400K for wildfire help

LONDON (AP) — The International Tennis Federation and the groups that run the U.S. Open, French Open and Wimbledon pledged a total of $400,000 on Monday to help the relief efforts for the Australian wildfires.

The donations will go to the Australian Red Cross.

The death toll in Australia has risen to at least 27, while the fires have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area larger than the U.S. state of Indiana since September. Four of the casualties have been firefighters.

The fire threat is most acute in rural communities, but wildfire smoke has choked some of Australia’s largest cities.

The year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament, the Australian Open, is scheduled to start Jan. 20 in Melbourne.