Aryna Sabalenka's Match Disrupted by Marijuana Smell at US Open
Aryna Sabalenka has spent two years bullying opponents off the court in New York. On Friday, something else tried to knock her off her stride: the thick, unmistakable smell of marijuana drifting across Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Early in her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova, the top seed suddenly froze mid-service motion. Ball tossed, racket ready, she simply let it drop. Then she did it again on the next point. This wasn’t nerves. It was nuisance.
Sabalenka walked toward the chair and asked for help, clearly irritated by the odour cutting through the humid New York air.
"I don't know if it was, like, coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium," she said later. "I don't know. I just hope they're going to be a bit more aware of that stuff."
The interruption came in just the third game, with Sabalenka still trying to lock into her rhythm. For a player who lives off intensity and precision, the distraction landed right in the middle of her routine.
Her message courtside was blunt.
"I was like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, to not do it around the tennis courts," she explained. "It's a bit tricky to handle that smell while you're trying to compete at your best."
The scene added Sabalenka’s name to a growing list of players who have complained about marijuana at the US Open. Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari have both raised the issue in recent years, pointing to the same lingering haze that seems to find its way into the show courts.
Behind the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre sits a public park, long suspected as the source when the wind turns the wrong way. On Friday, no fans were identified smoking inside the grounds and no one was ejected.
Tournament officials stressed their limits.
"While we can't control what takes place off the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this facility as a smoke-free environment," USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre said in a statement. "This includes enforcement by our security and guest services teams when they are made aware of any individual that may be smoking, making them aware that although it may be legal in NY, smoking is not permitted on parks property including the tennis centre."
Once the moment passed, Sabalenka did what she usually does in New York: she took control of the match and moved through. The irritation gave way to a smile by the time she sat down in front of the microphones.
The two-time defending champion even managed to joke about why some spectators might be lighting up near her matches.
"Maybe it's too fast so they want to slow down a little bit, so who knows," she said with a grin. "I don't know the effect from it."
She left Armstrong having handled Rakhimova and, just about, the swirling New York air. The tennis is still under her command. The wind, and whatever it carries in from that park, is another battle entirely.
