Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka had an unusual interruption during her third-round match at the on-going 2026 US Open when a strong smell of cannabis ushered onto the court at the Louis Armstrong Stadium midway through the contest.
The world No1 was taking on Ukraine’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday and had made a quick start, gaining a 3-0 lead in the opening setWhile serving in the fourth game, Aryna Sabalenka suddenly stopped and walked towards chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore to complain about a smell that was bothering her right from the start.
Sabalenka was quick to identify what the smell was all about and reported this to the umpire without any hesitationAnd it was actually of Marijuana’s.
“Someone is smoking weed,” Sabalenka told the umpire“Would you mind … because it’s so strong,”
The umpire spoke to the officials as staff members looked into the source of the smellPlay resumed soon after with Sabalenka able to put the incident behind her and continue the match.
Aryna Sabalenka frenó su partido en el US Open por un espectador que estaba fumando marihuana en la tribuna.
🗣 “Es muy fuerte”.
Cosas que pasan en Nueva Yorkpic.twitter.com/iZ02IIyUab
— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) September 4, 2026
The Belarusian eventually completed a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rakhimova to reach the fourth roundThe result also extended her winning run at the US Open to 16 matches.
Sabalenka later explained that she was not objecting to people smoking cannabis in generalHer concern was that the smell was making it difficult to concentrate while competingIt is indeed a shocking thing as to how is someone able to smoke the substance during a major sporting competition, that too, in the United States.
The world number 1 also raised this question that people have the right to do whatever they want but smoking inside a tennis court just doesn’t seem right.
“I was, like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, do not do it around the tennis courtsIt’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.
Despite the stadium staff’s best efforts, the source of the smell could not be foundSabalenka said she was unsure whether it had come from a spectator or from outside the stadium with wind possibly carrying the smell into the venue.
“I don’t know if it was, like, coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium,” she added.
Cannabis use by adults is legal in New York but smoking is not permitted inside the US Open groundsThe smell has nevertheless become a familiar issue around the tournament with the venue located next to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Sabalenka was not the only player to notice the smell during this year’s tournamentBritish player Katie Boulter had also spoken about the smell of cannabis around the practice courts, saying she was not a huge fan of it.
Meanwhile, after beating her Ukrainian counterpart in the third round, Aryna Sabalenka will now face American Taylor Townsend in the fourth round as she continues her bid for a third straight US Open title.
