Marijuana row at US Open: Players complain of people smoking pot during matches

Players at the US Open have year after year spoken about the marijuana smell

Cannabis use has surged in the US since a wave of state-level legalisation, and New York, where recreational marijuana became legal for adults 21 and over back in 2021, is very much part of that trend. That shift has been creeping into the courts during the ongoing US Open.

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic had flagged it last season. This year, several players have spoken up about the smell drifting in from Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, which sits right next to the outer courts.

The USTA says smoking is banned on the grounds of the US Open and that it works with the NYPD and local park authorities to manage it, but admits it has little control over what happens just outside the perimeter.

Aryna Sabalenka

The Belarusian top seed had her third-round match against Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan briefly interrupted after she walked over to tell the chair umpire directly. Serving at 30-0 while up 3-0, Sabalenka said, “Someone is smoking weed. Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”

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The umpire radioed an official and made a smoking gesture toward the stands before play resumed. Sabalenka went on to win comfortably, extending her win streak at the tournament to 16 matches. When asked about it during her post-match press conference, the Belarusian joked that she “might get high” if people kept smoking.

Casper Ruud

Norway’s Casper Ruud raised the issue last year, calling the smell “the worst thing about New York.” He said it was genuinely distracting to be running down a ball while exhausted and catching whiffs of marijuana smoke just meters away, adding that he found the whole situation “quite annoying.”

Katie Boulter

Britain’s No. 1 Katie Boulter said she had noticed it repeatedly around the practice courts and the outer park-facing courts, not just in matches. “I’m trying to focus, and then obviously, it takes you out of the moment,” she said, adding that she isn’t a fan of it and that plenty of other players have raised the same complaint on specific courts.

Fran Jones and Harriet Dart

Fran Jones of Great Britain joked about it during her first-round match last year, asking an official if the smell was normal near the stadium. Her countrymate Harriet Dart has echoed similar frustrations this year, both pointing to the same problem spot near the park-facing courts.

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Novak Djokovic

Djokovic raised the issue during last year’s tournament, saying the smell isn’t something you can miss once it hits the court. “You can really smell the smell; it’s not like you can miss it,” he said, adding that it seems to bother some players far more than others.

Maria Sakkari

Maria Sakkari of Greece raised it mid-match during her first-round loss to Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova in 2023, telling the umpire, “The smell, oh my gosh. I think it’s from the park.” Afterwards, she was measured about it rather than using it as an excuse, saying she noticed it but didn’t dwell on it, since the smell is simply something players can’t control in an open-air venue next to a public park.

Alexander Zverev

Back in 2023, Alexander Zverev of Germany became one of the most quoted voices on the topic after his match on Court 17, which sits closest to the park. “Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room,” he said. “Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed.”

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