Aryna Sabalenka Faces Unusual Distraction at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka raced out to a 3-0 lead. Then the smell hit her.

Midway through her second service game in the US Open third round on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the world number one suddenly stepped back from the baseline, turned toward the chair and pointed out an unexpected opponent: a strong waft of cannabis drifting across the court.

Play stopped briefly as she spoke to the umpire, gesturing toward the stands while the odour lingered. Once the issue was acknowledged, Sabalenka reset, returned to the line and the match carried on.

The scene has become oddly familiar at Flushing Meadows. The US Open’s high-intensity tennis now shares space with New York’s relaxed cannabis laws, and the clash is playing out in real time on court. Smoking is banned inside the grounds, but with recreational cannabis legal for adults over 21, smoke from Flushing Meadows–Corona Park can ride the late-summer air straight into the stadiums.

Players have complained before about the distraction, especially on the more open courts where the breeze funnels smells and noise into the action. On Friday, not even the top seed was spared.

Sabalenka handled it quickly and professionally, yet the moment underlined one of the more surreal quirks of the New York major: at the US Open, even the world number one has to deal with the wind, the crowd, and whatever drifts in from the park next door.