Aryna Sabalenka's US Open Match Disrupted by Cannabis Smell

Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open charge briefly paused for a reason no coach can prepare a player for: the smell of cannabis drifting across Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The world No 1 had sprinted to a 3-0 lead in the first set against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday, locked into the kind of early rhythm that usually spells trouble for anyone on the other side of the net. Then, during her second service game, she stepped back, looked towards the chair and made her point.

There was something in the air. And it wasn’t nerves.

Sabalenka gestured and spoke to the umpire, clearly indicating the strong odour wafting through the arena. Play stopped for a moment as the issue was acknowledged, then resumed once it became clear there was little anyone inside the stadium could do about it.

For those who have followed recent US Opens, the scene was oddly familiar. The smell of cannabis has become a recurring, if unwanted, subplot at Flushing Meadows, with several players in past editions remarking on how distracting it can be during matches.

Smoking is banned inside the grounds, but the tournament’s location leaves it exposed. Recreational cannabis is legal in New York for adults over 21, and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park wraps around the tennis complex. When the wind turns, smoke from the park can slip through the open spaces and into the show courts, cutting across the carefully controlled environment of elite sport.

On this occasion, even the top seed, cruising in the early stages of a third-round match, could not shut it out. Sabalenka quickly reset and carried on, but the interruption underlined one of the quirks of the New York major: you can prepare for the crowd, the humidity, the night sessions.

You can’t game-plan for the breeze.