Aryna Sabalenka had to make an unusual break during her third round US Open match. The number one in the world temporarily interrupted her duel against Kamilla Rakhimova at Louis Armstrong Stadium after perceiving a strong smell of marijuana that, she later explained, hindered her concentration while trying to compete.
The incident occurred during the third game of the match. Sabalenka prepared to take out, threw the ball into the air, but decided to let it fall before performing the service. At the next point he repeated the action and, in the face of the inconvenience, approached the judge's chair to ask for help.
Aryna Sabalenka had to speak to the umpire mid-match at the U.S. Open due to someone smoking weed: “Someone is smoking weed. Do you mind? Because it’s so strong.” pic.twitter.com/Fx2JnzZ6QN
The Belarusian tennis player explained that she did not know where the smell came from. The wind could be moving it from the outside toward the facilities, although it also contemplated the possibility that it would come from the tribunes.
Sabalenka said: “I don’t know if it came from the public or from the outside because the wind takes it to the stadium.
Later, during her press conference, Sabalenka told what she thought at that time and made it clear that the problem was not related to someone smoking outside the facilities, but to the effect the smell had on her while playing.
“I said, guys, you can do what you want, you can smoke what you want, you can relax whatever you want, but please don’t do it around the tennis court,” he said. “It’s a bit complicated to handle that smell while trying to compete to the maximum.”
The incident did not end to affect the result for Sabalenka. The main series head of the tournament surpassed Rakhimova, WTA number 92, by 6-3 and 6-4 in an hour and 28 minutes, a result that allowed him to advance to the final eighth and extend to 16 his number of consecutive victories in the US Open.
The Belarusian controlled much of the match and had opportunities to resolve it more quickly.She finished with two failures converted into seven opportunities and won 75% of the points disputed with her service.
He also connected 29 winning hits and made 19 non-forced mistakes.
In the second set, Sabalenka wasted his first four bankruptcy opportunities. The fifth was the final: with the 4-4 scoring he broke the service of Rakhimova and then kept his to close the match.
Sabalenka, a champion of the US Open in 2024 and current winner of the tournament, is now looking to conquer the title for the third consecutive edition. Her position as number one in the world ranking at the end of the tournament will also depend on what Kazakistan Elena Rybakina, currently second in the ranking, will do.
Sabalenka’s next challenge will be Taylor Townsend.
The smell of marijuana, meanwhile, is already part of another particularity of his New York tour. Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari have also complained previously about similar situations during matches of the US Open. Behind the facilities there is a park that is often considered as the possible source of the smell.
The American Tennis Association said it did not find any spectators smoking inside the court, nor expelled any fans for that reason. His spokesman Brendan McIntyre recalled that the tournamentins the facilities as a smoke-free space, although he can’t control what happens outside the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In his conference, Sabalenka even ended up taking the episode with humor when the possibility arose that some fans were looking for a different way to enjoy their matches.
“Maybe it’s too fast, so they want to slow it down a little, who knows,” he said.
