Tennis-Sabalenka interrupts US Open match over cannabis smell

World number ​one Aryna Sabalenka ‌had an ​unusual interruption during her U.S. Open third-round match on Friday, ‌stopping play to alert the umpire to a strong smell of cannabis drifting onto Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sabalenka, who ‌had made a fast 3-0 start against ‌Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova, raised the issue during her second service game, pointing out the smell before play resumed. 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 tournament 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 ⁠onto the courts. Even top seed Sabalenka was unable to escape ⁠one ⁠of the more unexpected elements of the U.S. Open experience.