Smell of smoke, and it’s not tobacco, at the US Open and Aryna Sabalenka interrupts a joke: «I’ve never smelled it so strongly. I don’t know if it came from the stands or from outside, but it was a bit much,” said the n. 1 in women’s tennis in the press conference after defeating Kamilla Rakhimova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.
In New York marijuana is legal: “You can smoke as much as you want but not when we play”, added the athlete who, after having passed the third round of the tournament, will continue the race towards what would be his fifth slam singles title.
The request to the referee
The Belarusian, who was playing at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, asked referee Eva Asderaki-Moore to intervene and she in turn spoke to an official via radio before play resumed. Sabalenka isn’t the first player to complain about the smell of cannabis on the Flushing Meadows courts this year. Last week Britain’s Katie Boulter said the smell was distracting, while Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones also reported experiencing it.
A repeating problem
And it is not a new problem at the US Open: in previous years, players such as Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev had also complained about the smell of marijuana coming from the areas surrounding the courts.