Aryna Sabalenka halts US Open match over ‘strong’ smell of marijuana

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World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka called a halt to her third-round match at the US Open after complaining she could smell marijuana.

The two-time defending champion was 2-0 up and serving in the first set against Kamilla Rakhimova on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

She stopped abruptly and spoke to her team before approaching the umpire’s chair.

“Someone is smoking weed,” she told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore. “Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”

Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and turned to someone else behind her, making a smoking gesture with her fingers, before play continued.

The smell of weed around Flushing Meadows has been an issue this week but has broadly been confined to the outside courts, close to nearby Corona Park.

Smoking of any kind is prohibited on the site itself. The United States Tennis Association has been approached for comment.