Aryna Sabalenka Faces Unusual Distraction at US Open
Aryna Sabalenka has spent the past two years bullying opponents off the courts at Flushing Meadows. On Friday in Louis Armstrong Stadium, something finally forced her to pause.
Not a rival. A smell.
The world No.1 and two-time defending US Open champion stopped mid-service game in the first set of her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova, distracted by what she said was the strongest marijuana odour she had ever experienced during a match.
She tossed the ball to serve in the third game, froze, and simply let it drop. On the next point, the same thing. Sabalenka backed off the baseline, clearly unsettled, and walked towards the chair umpire.
She wanted help. Or at least an explanation.
“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,” Sabalenka said later. “I don't know. I just hope they're going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”
The scene was jarring. Sabalenka is usually all business between points, stalking the baseline, barking at herself, ripping through service games. This time, she stood under the lights of Armstrong, glancing around as if trying to locate an invisible opponent.
She made her point to the chair: this wasn’t about policing anyone’s evening, it was about trying to compete at the sharpest edge of elite tennis.
“I was like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, to not do it around the tennis courts,” she said. “It's a bit tricky to handle that smell while you're trying to compete at your best.”
The US Open has been here before. Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari are among those who have previously complained about marijuana odours drifting across the courts. Behind the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center sits a public park, widely assumed to be the source whenever that familiar haze hangs in the air.
On Friday, officials said no spectators were caught smoking or removed from the facility. The USTA moved quickly to underline its stance.
“While we can't control what takes place off the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this facility as a smoke-free environment,” USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre said in a statement. “This includes enforcement by our security and guest services teams when they are made aware of any individual that may be smoking, making them aware that although it may be legal in NY, smoking is not permitted on parks property including the tennis centre.”
The match itself never truly slipped from Sabalenka’s grasp. Once she reset, the top seed resumed her usual barrage, overpowering Rakhimova and marching into the second week again. The brief interruption became just another odd New York story attached to a dominant run.
By the time she sat down in the interview room, Sabalenka had turned the irritation into a punchline, leaning into the idea that some fans might be trying to enhance the viewing experience of her high-octane tennis.
“Maybe it's too fast so they want to slow down a little bit, so who knows,” she said with a smile. “I don't know the effect from it.”
New York will do what New York does. The wind will keep swirling around Armstrong, the park behind the grounds will stay busy, and the city’s legal landscape won’t change for a tennis tournament.
Sabalenka, though, looks intent on making sure the only thing that stops her at this US Open is a player on the other side of the net, not a cloud drifting in from beyond the fence.
