Casper Ruud hails Iga Swiatek for raising awareness on World Mental Health Day with special gesture at Ostrava Open

Casper Ruud has joined the list of Iga Swiatek's admirers after the Polish superstar raised awareness towards mental health with an incredible gesture after her Ostrava Open final on Sunday. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Swiatek decided to donate all her prize money from the Ostrava Open to Polish NGOs working for the cause.

An emotional Swiatek made the announcement during her on-court speech as she accepted the Ostrava Open runner-up trophy and prize money cheque. The World No. 1 lost a highly competitive final 7-5, 6-7(4), 3-6 to home favorite Barbora Krejcikova in the Czech city of Ostrava.

Swiatek's gesture aimed at raising mental health awareness earned her a lot of praise and ATP World No. 3 Ruud joined the chorus as well.

"Wow Iga Swiatek, thank you for raising awareness to the world mental health day today," Ruud wrote on Instagram.

Casper Ruud via his Instagram Stories

Swiatek herself broke down in tears as soon as fans began chanting her name as she prepared for her on-court speech after the final against Krejcikova. She then collected herself and continued with her speech, making the announcement about her donation towards mental health cause.

"Tomorrow is the world mental health day. I will donate all the money earned in this tournament to non-profit organizations in Poland dealing with this topic,” she said during the speech.

The 21-year-old has been quite vocal and supportive of important global causes this year, including her work towards raising funds for Ukrainians affected by the war with Russia.

When Iga Swiatek donated $50,000 to a mental health charity on World Mental Health Day 2021

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Iga Swiatek shone light on the importance of mental health last year as well. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day in 2021, the Polish player had announced a donation of $50,000 from her Indian Wells Open prize money to a charity focusing on the cause. She decided to do so after her third-round victory at Indian Wells last year.

Swiatek took to Twitter after her match in October last year and spoke about the matter. She also highlighted a quote from swimming legend Michael Phelps to express her thoughts.

"It's important to raise awareness in terms of looking for help and support if we need it. It's a sign of strength and wisdom, not weakness. As Michael Phelps wrote today" It's OK not to be OK," Swiatek wrote in a tweet.

"I will donate 50k $ of my prize money for the 3rd round in Indian Wells to non-profit providing mental health support," she added.

On the tennis front, Iga Swiatek has dominated the ongoing season with a 60-8 win-loss record this year, winning seven titles in the process. She won her second and third Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open, respectively. She will now aim to finish the season on a high by winning the WTA year-end championship.