Aryna Sabalenka Faces Cannabis Distraction at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka arrived on Louis Armstrong Stadium locked in, world No 1 in full command and already three games clear in her US Open third-round match. Then the wind changed.

Midway through her second service game against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, Sabalenka suddenly stepped back from the baseline, her focus snapping away from the ball. She walked toward the chair, gestured toward the stands and told the umpire what everyone in the lower rows had already started to notice: the sharp, unmistakable smell of cannabis drifting across the court.

Play paused. Sabalenka pointed it out again, clearly irritated but composed, before the match moved on.

It was an odd interruption for a top seed in cruise control, but hardly a shock to anyone who has spent time at Flushing Meadows in recent years. The scent of cannabis has become a recurring, if unwanted, part of the US Open soundtrack, with players previously voicing frustration at the distraction during matches.

Smoking is banned inside the grounds, yet the tournament sits on the edge of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where recreational cannabis is legal for adults over 21 in New York. When the breeze is right, smoke from the park doesn’t respect the fences. It slips over the walls, into the complex and, as Sabalenka discovered, straight onto the show courts.

On Friday, even the world No 1 couldn’t escape one of the more surreal quirks of the New York major.