Aryna Sabalenka was briefly forced to pause during her third-round match at the 2026 US Open after a strong cannabis smell reached the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium. The world No. 1 noticed the odour while facing Kamilla Rakhimova and brought it to the umpire’s attention before play continued.
The unusual disruption came early in the contest, with Sabalenka already holding a 3-0 lead against the Uzbekistani player. Despite the interruption, the top seed remained focused and went on to complete a straight-sets victory, keeping her title defence firmly on track.
Sabalenka later explained that she had encountered the smell earlier during the tournament but had never experienced it so strongly while competing. She suggested that windy conditions may have carried the odour into the stadium and appealed to spectators to keep smoking away from the tennis courts.
World’s #1 women’s tennis player Aryna Sabalenka had to alert the umpire that someone in the crowd was smoking very potent marijuana pic.twitter.com/btjoJq9ows
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 4, 2026
Sabalenka explains ‘Weeds’ US Open disruption
“Someone is smoking weed,” top seed Sabalenka told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore as she was serving 30-0 up. “Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”
Sabalenka later told reporters she was not objecting to anyone enjoying themselves, but pleaded for the smoking to be kept away from the court.
“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,” a smiling Sabalenka said. “It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”
🚬🌿 “SI SIGUEN FUMANDO ASÍ, LA QUE VA A TERMINAR DROGADA SOY YO”.
🗣 Aryna Sabalenka: “Chicos, pueden fumar lo que quieran y relajarse, pero por favor no lo hagan cerca de la pista. Es difícil competir al máximo nivel con ese olor” pic.twitter.com/KI3u5unA4D https://t.co/0vmXMLq7zE
— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) September 4, 2026
The odour of cannabis has become a familiar — if unwelcome — feature at Flushing Meadows, with players complaining about the distraction in the past.
While smoking is not permitted inside the grounds, recreational cannabis is legal for adults over 21 in New York and smoke from people in the surrounding Flushing Meadows-Corona Park can drift into the tennis complex and on to the courts.
Sabalenka said she had smelled cannabis before during the tournament but never so strongly during a match, with Friday’s wind apparently carrying the odour into the stadium.
“That strong, yeah. Also, because it was a bit windy,” she said. “I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.
“I just hope they are a bit more aware of that stuff,” she added, before laughing when the questions returned to the subject. “Come on, guys. I think there is nothing else to say about weed. I’m just asking people not to smoke it next to the tennis court.”
Jessica Pegula echoes Sabalenka’s concerns
World number three Jessica Pegula, who was playing at the same time next door in Arthur Ashe Stadium, echoed Sabalenka’s remarks.
“It makes it New York that it’s so kind of all over the place and chaotic,” Pegula said. “But I do think that there are things that maybe could be better suited towards helping the match be a tennis match and not letting other factors kind of interfere.”
The incident came amid controversy over the growing presence of influencers and content creators and questions over their impact on players and the on-court atmosphere.
“As far as like the influencer things… tennis etiquette, it’s something you have to learn as you go to these events,” Pegula said. “The smoking weed, you probably just shouldn’t do that. I feel like that should be a known thing.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
