Marij*ana had already become the talk of this US Open, and now the problem has entered the stadium itself. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka stopped her third-round match against Kamilla Rakhimova at Louis Armstrong Stadium to complain about the smell of can**bis drifting onto the court, becoming the latest and most prominent name to call out an issue that has dogged Flushing Meadows all fortnight.
The interruption came early, with Sabalenka serving at 30-0 in the third game after firing down an ace. Instead of going to the baseline and serve for the next point, she briefly had a word with her box and then walked over to the chair umpire, Eva Asderaki-Moore.
“Someone is smoking weed,” Sabalenka said, while looking extremely displeased. “Would you mind, because it’s so strong.” Asderaki-Moore radioed an official and made a smoking gesture with her hand toward someone behind her before play resumed.
It did not slow her down as the top seed went on to win the match 6-3, 6-4, setting up a fourth-round meeting with either 15th seed Diana Shnaider or American Taylor Townsend.
Complaints like hers have piled up quickly this year alone. Adrian Mannarino recently shared his thoughts about the zoo-like atmosphere at the tournament, singling out the smell of weed as one of the more particular conditions he has had to play through. British No. 1 Katie Boulter has said much the same, while Casper Ruud called it “the worst thing in New York” and “quite annoying” to deal with on top of everything else the tournament throws at players physically.
Sabalenka’s complaint is unique because of where it occurred. Over the years, the majority of these complaints have concentrated on the outer courts and especially Court 17, an outside court notorious for the odor that comes from Corona Park, so much so that Alexander Zverev once referred to it as “Snoop Dogg’s living room.” By comparison, Sabalenka took her shot inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, one of the two show courts in the tournament, indicating that the issue isn’t just limited to the outer courts.
The USTA has long held the stance that smoking is not allowed anywhere on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and that the problem is primarily outside its control. “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,” the organization said in a statement, adding that security teams do step in “when they are made aware of any individual that may be smoking.”
Sabalenka’s mid-match stoppage on a stadium court clearly shows that enforcement is not being applied strictly. The first week of the US Open has already featured complaints about rowdy crowds, influencer disturbances, and smoking, and this latest incident is making it increasingly difficult for the organizer to get things under control.