Aryna Sabalenka finally found something that could slow her down at the U.S. Open: the smell of marijuana. The two-time defending champion complained to the chair umpire that the odor was bothering her early in her third-round victory over Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday.
What Happened on Court
Sabalenka said she had never smelled the odor so strongly as she did while serving early in the match. She was serving in the third game of the contest in Louis Armstrong Stadium when she tossed the ball but let it fall to the court. She did the same thing on the next point, with something clearly distracting her, before approaching the chair to ask for help.
“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. It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”
Sabalenka later explained she wasn’t sure where the smell was coming from.
“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. I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”
A Recurring Issue at Flushing Meadows
Other players, including Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari, have raised similar complaints during their matches. A park sits directly behind the U.S. Open grounds, and it is often the suspected source of the smell drifting into the venue.
No fans were identified as smoking and ejected from the tennis grounds.
USTA Response
U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Brendan McIntyre addressed the situation in a statement.
“While we can’t control what takes place off the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this facility as a smoke free environment. 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, that smoking is not permitted on parks property including the tennis center.”
Sabalenka Sees the Humor
The top-seeded Sabalenka eventually laughed off the topic during her post-match news conference, including a playful suggestion about why fans might want the matches to last longer.
“Maybe it’s too fast so they want to slow down a little bit, so who knows. I don’t know the effect from it.”