FLUSHING MEADOWS — If you have been to New York recently, you have probably noticed the smell of marijuana at one point or another.
Queens, the borough of New York that hosts the US Open, seems to be a particularly green part of town. (Greenpoint, the natural home of grass, is a bit closer to Manhattan.)
Cannabis has been legal in the state of New York for five years, and adults over 21 can carry up to three ounces of the drug, and smoking it is governed by the same rules as tobacco in the city.
So are people smoking weed at the US Open?
Well, no – not that I have noticed. Even though weed is legal here, the US Open organisers do not allow smoking of any kind, including tobacco, cannabis or vapes, at the tournament.
But world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka actually stopped her third-round match on Saturday to complain to the umpire about a strong smell of the drug on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the tournament’s biggest court.
Smoking of any kind is banned at the US Open (Photo: Reuters)A smiling Sabalenka said afterwards: “I was, like, ‘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.’
“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”
So how did it happen?
No one is quite sure. The US Open site is on the edge of Corona Park, a public park with football pitches, lakes and the Unisphere, a monument built in the 1960s for the New York World’s Fair.
Previous incidents have occurred on the practice courts, which are outside of the main site and in the park itself, or on Stadium 17, which is right on the edge of the grounds, adjacent to the park.
But Armstrong is in the middle of the site and entirely enclosed by more than 24,000 seats – so it’s hard to imagine anyone craftily lighting up without fear of being spotted.
Have other players noticed?
Yes, and for a number of years at the tournament since the drug’s legalisation.
The Americans seem fairly used to it, but in Britain, marijuana is a class B controlled substance, although it can be prescribed for medical purposes.
Cannabis is available to buy legally in New York (Photo: Getty)So British players who largely live and train in the UK are much less used to it.
“I’m not a huge fan of it,” said Katie Boulter, the British No 1.
“I know a lot of players have complained on some of the specific courts. I’ve played on one before and I did smell it during my match.
“It’s something that I wouldn’t like to smell in the middle of my match. I’m trying to focus and then obviously, it takes you out of the moment and you really don’t want to.”
What can be done about it?
Short of a “ring of steel” with police officers armed with deodorant cans to cover the smell (which anyone who has tried knows does not really work anyway), not very much, although tournament authorities are trying.
A spokesperson for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which runs the US Open, said: “While we can’t control what takes place off the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this facility as a smoke-free environment.
“This includes enforcement by our security and guest services teams when they are made aware of any individual that may be smoking, making them aware that although it may be legal in New York, that smoking is not permitted on parks property, including the tennis center.
“We constantly work with the NYPD and Parks Department, and we believe this has helped to decrease smoking near our fenceline.”
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