Aryna Sabalenka's US Open Challenge: The Distraction of Marijuana

Aryna Sabalenka has stared down power hitters, swirling winds and New York’s noise. On Friday at the US Open, something else tried to knock her off course.

The smell of marijuana.

Sabalenka stops, then speaks up

Early in her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the top seed suddenly halted mid-service motion. Twice in the third game, she tossed the ball, let it drop, and stepped back, clearly unsettled.

It wasn’t her opponent. It wasn’t the occasion. It was the air.

Sabalenka walked toward the chair umpire and asked for help, explaining afterward that the odour was far stronger than anything she had experienced in New York before.

"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. "I don't know. I just hope they're going to be a bit more aware of that stuff."

For a player who thrives on rhythm and aggression, the interruption was no small detail. She admitted it was “a bit tricky” to compete at her peak while dealing with the smell.

"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," Sabalenka said. "It's a bit tricky to handle that smell while you're trying to compete at your best."

A recurring US Open issue

This isn’t a one-off annoyance. Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari have both complained in past years about the same thing during matches at Flushing Meadows.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center backs onto a park, long suspected as the source when marijuana drifts across the grounds. On Friday, no spectators were found smoking inside the facility and no one was ejected.

The USTA underlined its stance in a statement from spokesperson Brendan McIntyre, stressing that while New York law may allow it, the tennis centre does not.

"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," McIntyre said. "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."

So the smell lingers, but the rules remain clear.

From irritation to a joke

Once the match settled and the result was secure, Sabalenka’s tone softened. The irritation gave way to a smile in her news conference as she toyed with the idea that some fans might simply be trying to enhance the spectacle.

"Maybe it's too fast so they want to slow down a little bit, so who knows," she said. "I don't know the effect from it."

She does know this: it didn’t slow her down enough to change the outcome.

The defending champion is still marching through the draw. If anyone plans to test her focus again, they may have to bring something stronger than a gust of weed drifting in from the park.