Overview
- On Friday Sabalenka paused her third-round match at Louis Armstrong Stadium to tell chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore she smelled marijuana and asked for action.
- Sabalenka won the match 6-3, 6-4 and advanced to the tournament's second week despite the interruption.
- The chair umpire radioed an official before play resumed, and video of Sabalenka's complaint spread quickly on social platforms.
- US Open organizers say they are coordinating with the NYPD and the parks department but say enforcement is constrained because the tournament sits inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park and New York allows adult-use cannabis.
- Players have repeatedly reported drifting cannabis odor at the event, a distraction that can affect focus and performance and that organizers have struggled to fully resolve.