World No.1 stops match over ‘so strong’ weed smell

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka briefly stopped her third-round US Open match because someone was enjoying a puff of the wacky tabacky.

Early in the first set of her match against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, Sabalenka briefly looked to her box, into the crowd, and then somewhat sheepishly strolled over to chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.

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"Someone is smoking weed. Would you mind to … because it's so strong," she said.

The odour of cannabis has become a familiar – if unwelcome – feature at Flushing Meadows, with players including Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari complaining about the distraction in the past.

While smoking is not permitted inside the grounds, recreational cannabis is legal for adults over 21 in New York and smoke from people in the surrounding Flushing Meadows-Corona Park can drift into the tennis complex and on to the courts.

The disruption clearly didn’t faze the 28-year-old Belarusian, who cruised past Rahkimova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 without so much as facing a break in the match. She is yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Her post-match press conference descended into chaos after Sabalenka broke into fits of giggles after a reporter asked "how much of a high" she is on at the US Open compared to other majors.

"High? The level? Now I can only hear weed stuff. If they’re going to keep smoking I might get high," Sabalenka said with a laugh.

The question didn’t appear to be about the weed, rather than her impressive 17-match Flushing Meadows win streak that extends back to the 2023 final, which she lost to Coco Gauff. She has won the last two tournaments in 2024 and 2025.

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She went on to say she had no objections to anyone enjoying themselves however they see fit, but pleaded for the smoking to be kept away from the court.

“I was like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please (don’t) do it around the tennis courts,” she said.

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

No fans were found to be smoking in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

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Sabalenka said she had smelled cannabis before during the tournament but never so strongly during a match. A stiff breeze has been blowing across the precinct for much of Saturday (AEST), apparently carrying the odour into the stadium.

"That strong, yeah. Also, because it was a bit windy," she said. "I don't know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

"I just hope they are a bit more aware of that stuff," she added, before laughing when the questions returned to the subject. "Come on, guys. I think there is nothing else to say about weed. I'm just asking people not to smoke it next to the tennis court."

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