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Poland’s Hurkacz to Fund Flood Victims with Each Ace He Hits

This photo provided by the state company Polish Waters shows the Oder River flood waters channelled into and contained by the newly-built Lower Raciborz Reservoir that has spared the cities of Opole and Wroclaw from flooding, in Raciborz, southwestern Poland, Sept. 16, 2024. (Polish Waters via AP)
This photo provided by the state company Polish Waters shows the Oder River flood waters channelled into and contained by the newly-built Lower Raciborz Reservoir that has spared the cities of Opole and Wroclaw from flooding, in Raciborz, southwestern Poland, Sept. 16, 2024. (Polish Waters via AP)
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Poland’s Hurkacz to Fund Flood Victims with Each Ace He Hits

This photo provided by the state company Polish Waters shows the Oder River flood waters channelled into and contained by the newly-built Lower Raciborz Reservoir that has spared the cities of Opole and Wroclaw from flooding, in Raciborz, southwestern Poland, Sept. 16, 2024. (Polish Waters via AP)
This photo provided by the state company Polish Waters shows the Oder River flood waters channelled into and contained by the newly-built Lower Raciborz Reservoir that has spared the cities of Opole and Wroclaw from flooding, in Raciborz, southwestern Poland, Sept. 16, 2024. (Polish Waters via AP)

World number eight Hubert Hurkacz said on Tuesday he will donate 100 euros to Poland flood victims for every ace he hits until the end of the season.

At least 23 people died across central Europe this week due to the worst floods the region has seen in two decades. The areas along the Czech-Polish border have been particularly hard hit since the weekend.

In the 2023 season, the pole became a part of an exclusive club of nine players who have achieved the extraordinary feat of serving 1,000 plus aces during an ATP Tour season.

"I will be donating 100 Euros for every ace I hit to support those affected by the devastating floods in Poland. For me, sport is not just a competition, but also a platform to drive impact. #acesforaid," Hurkacz wrote on X on Tuesday.

The floods have left trail of destruction from Romania to Poland, spreading mud and debris in towns, destroying bridges, submerging cars and leaving authorities and householders with a bill for damages that will run into billions of dollars.

Poland will mobilize up to 23 billion zlotys ($6.02 billion) some of it from the European Union, to deal with the aftermath of severe flooding, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.

Hurkacz is seeded second in the Tokyo Open and will face American Marcos Giron in the round of 32 on Wednesday.

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Finland Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China because they're Too Expensive to Keep

FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
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Finland Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China because they're Too Expensive to Keep

FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)

A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors.
The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland some 330 kilometers north of Helsinki said Wednesday on its Facebook page that the female panda Lumi, Finnish for “snow,” and the male panda Pyry, meaning “snowfall,” will return “prematurely” to China later this year, The Associated Press reported.
The panda pair was China’s gift to mark the Nordic nation’s 100 years of independence in 2017, and they were supposed to be on loan until 2033.
But since then the zoo has experienced a number of challenges, including a decline in visitors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as an increase in inflation and interest rates, the facility said in a statement.
The panda deal between Helsinki and Beijing, a 15-year loan agreement, had been finalized in April 2017 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland for talks with Finland's then-President Sauli Niinistö. The pandas arrived in Finland in January 2018.
The Ähtäri Zoo, which specializes in typical northern European animals such as bears, lynxes and wolverines, built a special panda annex at a cost of some 8 million euros ($9 million) in hopes of luring more tourists to the remote nature reserve.
The upkeep of Lumi and Pyry, including a preservation fee to China, cost the zoo some 1.5 million euros annually. The bamboo that giant pandas eat was flown in from the Netherlands.
The Chinese Embassy in Helsinki noted to Finnish media that Beijing had tried to help Ähtäri to solve its financial difficulties by, among things, urging Chinese companies operating in Finland to make donations to the zoo and supporting its debt arrangements.
However, declining visitor numbers combined with drastic changes in the economic environment proved too high a burden for the smallish Finnish zoo. The panda pair will enter into a monthlong quarantine in late October before being shipped to China.
Finland, a country of 5.6 million, was among the first Western nations to establish political ties with China, doing so in 1950. China has presented giant pandas to countries as a sign of goodwill and closer political ties, and Finland was the first Nordic nation to receive them.