Marijuana at the U.S. Open: Nick Kyrgios Returns to the Spotlight After Aryna Sabalenka’s Comments
This is certainly nothing new, and in all likelihood, it won’t be the last time this comes up. For several years now, in fact, the smell of marijuana in the stands has become almost a recurring theme at the U.S. Open. This time, it was Aryna Sabalenka who pointed it out: during the third game of the first set against Kamilla Rakhimova, the Belarusian paused her serve preparation for a moment and addressed chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.
There’s no shortage of previous incidents. In 2022, it was Nick Kyrgios who called for the umpire’s intervention—an incident that, looking back on it today, is almost amusing. During his second-round match against Benjamin Bonzi, with the score at 4-3 in the second set at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Australian turned to chair umpire Jaume Campistol and asked him to remind the crowd that smoking was prohibited in the stands.
Kyrgios clarified that what was bothering him wasn’t just a general odor coming from the stands, but the smell of marijuana. At the end of the match, which he won against Bonzi, he also explained that he suffers from asthma and wanted to avoid breathing in that smoke between points, especially after the most intense rallies.
Returning to this year’s incident, Sabalenka didn’t just report the problem to the chair umpire: “Someone is smoking weed in the stands,” the world No. 1 warned, adding, “Would you mind saying something? The smell is really strong over there.” The umpire called for help via radio—likely to have security intervene—and the match resumed after a few moments. The Belarusian then went on to win in two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
After the match, the “Tiger of Minsk” jokingly revisited the incident during the press conference: “If they keep smoking, I’ll end up getting high myself. I’m telling you guys, you can do whatever you want. You can smoke—whatever you like. Go ahead and relax as much as possible. But please, don’t do it around the tennis courts. It’s a bit tricky to deal with that stench while you’re trying to compete at your best. I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or from outside, because the wind blows it into the stadium. I just hope they’ll be a little more careful about this…”.
It’s worth noting that the relationship between Sabalenka and Kyrgios isn’t without recent history: the two faced off last December in Dubai in a so-called “battle of the sexes,” with the court reduced by 9% to balance out the physical differences between the two competitors. That event sparked a great deal of debate, and today adds another layer of irony to the coincidence of seeing both players, at different times, engaged in the same unique battle against marijuana smoke at Flushing Meadows.
