Ace gesture: Tennis ace Nick Kyrgios to donate cash for each of his aces to aid victims of Australian bushfires

Nick Kyrgios is known to some as the bad boy of tennis, but he has shown his benevolent side on social media by announcing that he will donate $200 per ace served to help aid victims of the bushfires ravaging his homeland.

Kyrgios made the announcement on social media on Thursday, pledging $200AUS ($140US) for each winning serve he hits after the deaths of at least 18 people following the fires affecting New South Wales and Victoria.

A week-long state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales from Friday, with thousands of people being told to evacuate areas between Batemans Bay and Victoria with temperatures set to soar even further on Saturday. 

Kyrgios, the world's 30th ranked player, intends to help his compatriots as much as he can, revealing his pledge on social media.

"I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires. I’ll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer," he wrote. 

Fellow Australian players Alex de Minaur and John Millman also both vowed to donate $250AUS and $100AUS respectively per ace. 

"For weeks we’ve been watching the devastation caused by bushfires across Australia and the people affected are constantly in our thoughts," Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said of the developing catastrophe which is thought to have been exacerbated by climate change. 

"We want to help these communities in a meaningful way and will announce a number of fundraising initiatives that will be rolled out across the ATP Cup, Australian Open and our other events over the coming weeks."