Aryna Sabalenka Complains About Marijuana Smell During US Open Match

Aryna Sabalenka stopped her US Open match after a strong marijuana smell reached the court, turning a familiar tournament complaint into an on-court interruption.

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Someone is smoking weed. Don't you want to do something? Because it's so strong.

The Belarusian, the world’s top-ranked player and defending champion, paused during the first set of her third-round match against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova. With Sabalenka leading 2-0, she approached the chair umpire and said, "Someone is smoking weed. Don't you want to do something? Because it's so strong."

Sabalenka went on to win 6-3, 6-4 and reach the fourth round. At her press conference, she said people could smoke and relax as they wished, but asked them not to do so near the tennis courts. "It is a little difficult to deal with this smell when you are trying to do your best," she said.

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People can do whatever they want, they can smoke whatever they want, they can relax as much as they want, but please not near the tennis courts.

She said she had never noticed the smell so strongly before and was unsure whether the wind had carried it from inside the stadium or from outside. The US Open prohibits smoking throughout its grounds, but marijuana odor has remained a recurring topic at the New York Grand Slam. Alexander Zverev previously said the smell was everywhere and joked that Court 17 resembled Snoop Dogg’s living room. Tamara Korpatsch also reported a strong odor near practice courts and said her asthma made it difficult to breathe.

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It is a little difficult to deal with this smell when you are trying to do your best.