Aryna Sabalenka Advances Despite Cannabis Distraction at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka moved through to the US Open fourth round with the authority of a top seed, yet it was the air around Louis Armstrong Stadium that stole part of the spotlight.

The Belarusian swept past Kamilla Rakhimova 6:3, 6:4 in New York, never allowing the Uzbek player a single break point. The scoreline was clean, the performance largely ruthless. The surroundings were not.

Midway through the match, Sabalenka halted play and turned to the chair umpire, clearly unhappy. A strong smell of cannabis was drifting through the stadium, and she made it clear it was affecting her concentration.

She later underlined that she has no issue with people relaxing, but drew a firm line at smoking near the courts, saying the smell makes it harder to focus during competition.

Smoking is banned on the US Open grounds, but recreational cannabis is legal in New York. With Flushing Meadows-Corona Park wrapping around the tennis complex, smoke can easily drift into the arenas, and on this day it did, right into the path of the top seed.

The distraction did not derail her. Sabalenka closed the match in straight sets and booked a fourth-round meeting with American Taylor Townsend, who came through a three-set battle against Diana Shnaider, 6:2, 6:7 (3:7), 6:3. Townsend’s aggressive style and home support promise a very different kind of test.

Alcaraz back in stride

On the men’s side, the defending champion delivered a statement of his own.

Carlos Alcaraz, returning to New York after more than four months out with a wrist injury, dismantled Wu Yibing 6:3, 6:4, 6:1. No rust, no hesitation, just the kind of controlled aggression that powered his rise.

The Spaniard has spoken of feeling better with every match and admitted he’s surprised by the speed of his recovery. The numbers back him up: straight sets, rising confidence, and now a meeting with 20th seed Tommy Paul, a player with the weapons to stretch him in longer rallies.

Medvedev, Tiafoe and Shelton move through

Daniil Medvedev delivered the kind of performance that has become his trademark in New York: efficient, unflustered, and relentlessly precise. He beat Arthur Rinderknech 6:4, 6:4, 6:4, three identical scorelines that reflected his grip on the match.

Frances Tiafoe, the 11th seed and one of the home crowd’s main hopes, handled Valentin Vacherot 6:4, 6:2, 6:4. He mixed flair with discipline, feeding off the energy in the stands without losing control of the scoreboard.

Ben Shelton needed longer but found a way. In a lively, momentum-swinging contest against Denis Shapovalov, the American came through 7:6 (7:3), 6:7 (5:7), 6:3, 6:4. Once he edged the third set, his serve and power game tightened, and Shapovalov couldn’t drag it into a decider.

Mixed fortunes for Ukraine

There was a clear split in fortunes for Ukraine’s leading players.

Marta Kostyuk, seeded 11th, produced one of the more commanding wins of the day. She brushed aside Ekaterina Alexandrova 6:3, 6:2, controlling both baseline exchanges and tempo. Next comes Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, a match-up that promises clean ball-striking and little margin for error.

Elina Svitolina, though, saw her run end. She fell 3:6, 6:2, 3:6 to Anna Kalinskaya, a stop-start contest where Svitolina briefly surged in the second set but couldn’t sustain the push in the decider.

On a day when a cannabis smell cut through the New York air and a defending champion announced his return to full health, the tournament tightened its grip. The early rounds are done; the draws are thinning. Now the question is simple: who handles the noise, the pressure, and even the drifting smoke best when the stakes rise again?