World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka briefly stopped her US Open third-round match on 4 September after a strong smell of cannabis drifted onto the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York. The four-time Grand Slam champion was leading Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova 3-0 in the opening set when she abandoned a ball toss, approached chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore and asked for help. 'Someone is smoking weed. Would you mind to ... because it's so strong,' Sabalenka said.
Asderaki-Moore relayed the complaint to tournament officials and gestured as if smoking while play was paused. No fan was identified as the source, and Sabalenka later said she could not tell whether the smell had come from the crowd or had been carried into the stadium by the wind. Play resumed, and Sabalenka won 6-3, 6-4.
The Weed Smell Did Not Stop the World No. 1
The interruption was brief enough that the tennis quickly returned to the usual problem facing Sabalenka's opponents: figuring out how to stop the world No. 1. The top seed completed the straight-sets victory to reach the US Open fourth round for a sixth consecutive year and extend her winning streak in New York to 16 matches. The WTA says she is the first player since Serena Williams to win 16 consecutive matches at the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka had to speak to the umpire mid-match at the U.S. Open due to someone smoking weed:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 4, 2026
“Someone is smoking weed. Do you mind? Because it’s so strong.”
pic.twitter.com/Fx2JnzZ6QN
Sabalenka has not lost at the US Open since Coco Gauff beat her in the 2023 final. She then won the title in 2024 and again in 2025, and is now trying to become the first woman since Williams, who won from 2012 through 2014, to claim three consecutive US Open singles crowns. Her next opponent is American Taylor Townsend, who beat No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider later on Friday to set up their fourth-round meeting.
Cannabis Is Legal in New York, Smoking Here Is Not
Adults aged 21 and over can legally possess and use cannabis in New York, but that does not make every cloud of smoke legal. NYC Health says smoking or vaping cannabis is prohibited in parks, event spaces and sports and recreational arenas, while the US Open's own venue guide states that the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a smoke-free facility. The tennis centre is located inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where New York City rules also prohibit smoking.
That left tournament staff with an unusually specific problem: the smell was obvious enough to stop the world No. 1, but its source was not. Sabalenka said the wind made it difficult to know whether the odour came from inside Louis Armstrong Stadium or beyond it. The USTA said it remained vigilant about enforcing its smoke-free policy on tournament grounds, while activity beyond the tennis centre falls outside its direct control.
Sabalenka Has One Request for Anyone Smoking Nearby
The 28-year-old said cannabis odour was not entirely new to her at the US Open, but Friday's encounter stood out. 'I don't know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium,' she said after the match. Sabalenka then had a simple request for anyone planning to partake nearby: '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.'
Sabalenka was able to laugh about the interruption after extending one of the tournament's longest active winning runs. She has now reached the fourth round at 16 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments she has played and has 37 US Open main-draw victories, more than any other player since her 2018 debut. For several minutes on Friday, though, the defending champion's match was interrupted not by Rakhimova but by a smell no one could definitively place.
