Sabalenka interrupts US Open match against Rakhimova over cannabis smell

World number one Aryna Sabalenka’s straight-sets US Open win against Kamilla Rakhimova stopped by smell of cannabis.

Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning her third-round match against Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]

World number one Aryna Sabalenka had an unusual interruption during ⁠her US Open third-round ⁠match, stopping play to alert the umpire to a strong smell of cannabis drifting onto the Louis Armstrong Stadium court.

Sabalenka, who ⁠had made a fast start to go 3-0 ahead before securing a straight-sets win against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, raised the issue during her second service game on Friday, pointing ⁠out the smell before play resumed.

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“Someone is smoking weed,” top seed Sabalenka told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore as she was serving 30-0 up. “Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”

Sabalenka later told reporters she was not objecting to anyone enjoying themselves, but asked for the smoking ‌to be kept away from the court.

“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,” a smiling Sabalenka said. “It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”

The odour of cannabis has become a familiar — if unwelcome — feature at ⁠Flushing Meadows, with players complaining about the distraction in the ⁠past.

While smoking is not permitted inside the grounds, recreational cannabis is legal for adults 21 and older in New York, and smoke from people in the surrounding Flushing Meadows-Corona Park can drift into the tennis ⁠complex and onto the courts.

Sabalenka said she had smelled cannabis before during the tournament but never so strongly during a ⁠match, with Friday’s wind apparently carrying the odour into ⁠the stadium.

“That strong, yeah. Also, because it was a bit windy,” she said. “I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

“I ‌just hope they are a bit more aware of that stuff,” she added, before laughing when the questions returned to the subject. “Come on, guys. I think there is ‌nothing ‌else to say about weed. I’m just asking people not to smoke it next to the tennis court.”

世界排名第一的阿丽娜·萨巴伦卡在美网公开赛上直落两盘战胜卡米拉·拉希莫娃，但比赛因闻到大麻气味而中断。

白俄罗斯选手阿琳娜·萨巴连卡 (Aryna Sabalenka) 庆祝赢得第三轮对阵乌兹别克斯坦选手卡米拉·拉希莫娃 (Kamilla Rakhimova) [Eduardo Munoz/路透社]

世界排名第一的阿丽娜·萨巴伦卡在美网第三轮比赛中遭遇了一次不寻常的中断，她暂停比赛，提醒裁判路易斯·阿姆斯特朗球场飘来一股浓烈的大麻气味。

萨巴伦卡开局迅速，以 3-0 领先，最终直落两盘战胜乌兹别克斯坦选手卡米拉·拉希莫娃。周五，她在第二个发球局中提出了这个问题，在比赛重新开始前指出了场地上的气味。

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第四部分（共四部分）：本泽马、博格巴、桑乔和斯特林接下来该怎么办？这些球星如今已无法闪耀光芒。

“有人在抽大麻，”头号种子萨巴伦卡在30-0领先时告诉裁判伊娃·阿斯德拉基-摩尔，“你能不能……因为这味道太浓了。”

萨巴伦卡后来告诉记者，她不反对任何人享受乐趣，但要求不要在球场内吸烟。

萨巴伦卡笑着说：“我就跟他们说，伙计们，你们想干什么就干什么，想抽什么就抽什么，想怎么放松就怎么放松，但请不要在网球场附近这样做。当你努力发挥最佳水平时，那种气味真的很难忍受。”

在法拉盛草地网球场，大麻的气味已经成为一种熟悉的——尽管不受欢迎——的景象，球员们过去曾抱怨这种气味会分散他们的注意力。

虽然场馆内禁止吸烟，但纽约对 21 岁及以上的成年人来说是合法的娱乐用大麻，因此，周围法拉盛草原可乐娜公园的人们产生的烟雾可能会飘进网球场馆，飘到球场上。

萨巴伦卡表示，她在本次赛事期间曾闻到过大麻的味道，但从未在比赛中闻到过如此浓烈的味道，周五的风显然将这种气味吹进了体育场。

“确实很强劲。而且当时风也有点大，”她说。“我不知道声音是从人群里传来的，还是从外面传来的，因为风把它吹进了体育场。”

“我只是希望他们能多了解一些这方面的事情，”她补充道，当问题再次回到这个话题时，她笑了。“拜托，各位。我觉得关于大麻没什么好说的了。我只是希望大家不要在网球场旁边抽大麻。”