The Belarusian did not let the cannabis distract her as she cruised to victory

The world number one, already 3-0 ahead in the opening set, told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore that \"someone is smoking weed,\" urging her to act \"because it's so strong\".

Asderaki-Moore radioed another official and gestured towards someone seated behind her to signal a smoking break, after which the match resumed.

Last month, Britain's Katie Boulter complained about the smell, saying she was \"not a huge fan of it\".

She said: \"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.

\"You don't need distractions. So yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of it.\"

In previous editions of the tournament, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev were among those who voiced similar complaints.

Although smoking of any kind is banned within the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, cannabis fumes frequently drift onto the courts.

Recreational cannabis use is legal in New York state for adults aged 21 and above.

The interruption did little to knock the Sabalenka off her stride.

The two-time defending champion swept to a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory as she continues her pursuit of a fifth Grand Slam singles crown.

Sabalenka's powerful baseline game was evident from the outset, as she conceded a mere four points on her own serve during a ruthless first set.

The Belarusian hit 10 aces across the match, compared with just two from her opponent and remarkably did not face a single break point throughout the entire contest.

Rakhimova showed greater resistance in the second set, but Sabalenka proved too strong when it mattered most.

She earned the decisive break to move 5-4 ahead before closing out the match on her own serve without difficulty.

The triumph extended Sabalenka's remarkable winning run at Flushing Meadows to 16 consecutive matches.

She is now aiming to become the first woman to claim three successive US Open singles titles since Serena Williams achieved the feat between 2012 and 2014.

","freeContentEncoded","textContent","published","strategy","curl-ready","locked","deletedAt","isSyncedFromOwnBlog","original","duplicatesCount","duplicateVersion","originalArticleId","errorsCount","appearance","color","backgroundColor","shortSummary","Aryna Sabalenka's US Open match was briefly interrupted by the strong smell of marijuana, but she remained focused and secured a straight-sets victory, extending her winning streak.","summary","World number one Aryna Sabalenka requested a pause in her US Open match due to a strong marijuana odor, which she reported to the umpire. Despite the distraction, Sabalenka maintained her composure and went on to win convincingly in straight sets, continuing her dominant performance.","bullets",[278,279,280,281,282],"Aryna Sabalenka asked for a match interruption due to a strong smell of marijuana.","The smell reportedly came from spectators in the stands.","Despite the distraction, Sabalenka won her match in straight sets.","This is not the first time players have complained about the smell at the tournament.","Recreational cannabis use is legal in New York state.","persons",[285,286,287,288,289,290],"Aryna Sabalenka","Eva Asderaki-Moore","Katie Boulter","Novak Djokovic","Alexander Zverev","Serena Williams","places",[293,294,295],"Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre","US Open","Flushing Meadows","words",335,"sentiment",1.5,"subject","sports","meta",{"_304":305,"_306":307,"_342":316},"type","bee:get-index-of-articles","schedule",{"_21":308,"_44":-5,"_309":310,"_70":-5,"_311":312,"_313":314,"_315":316,"_317":76,"_73":74,"_300":41,"_318":-5,"_319":-5,"_320":-5,"_321":74,"_259":260,"_322":323,"_47":323,"_324":325,"_326":76,"_327":328,"_49":329,"_330":-5,"_331":74,"_72":107,"_332":333,"_334":-5,"_335":336,"_337":-5,"_338":339,"_340":-5,"_341":-5},"3797b5e0-feb4-4253-b06a-4dcd2d7db828","npub","npub14242xl4drppujju5f8h3t9pzlkhxa6z0lj953ezyzgcdcn2wt5ssh2slhm","jobId","32ffed86-b653-4f32-a281-e5c37887b030","order",1,"rssUrl","https://www.gbnews.com/","system","userRef","xHandle","xUserId","autosign","syncedAt","2026-08-26T15:32:51.068Z","frequency","hourly","isOwnBlog","nextRunAt","2026-09-04T21:24:54.236Z","2026-09-04T18:24:54.780Z","xUserName","autopublish","sourceVariant","rss","systemVariant","scheduleVariant","scraping-bee-classic-proxy","retryArticlesIds","frequencyMultiplier",3,"xUserProfilePicture","ownershipConfirmedAt","dataSourceUrl","eventId","c017646199767bfaf02fa31c2e4c5c172b7ebae683afc418260c8c6153977ae6","nostrRootEvent","event",{"_21":344,"_348":349,"_123":314,"_70":350,"_361":360,"_252":362,"_363":364},"sig","c4904c041a27306b77112447e8e817f9d7dcf52294fa6514ca28ab3edc19f13af21afd03fed46f2fb5d9074a46df81c3456fdee17dcab10d823df0111b537ebb",[351,352,353,357,359],[300,238],[37,245],[354,355,41,356],"a","30023:aaaaa37ead1843c94b9449ef159422fdae6ee84ffc8b48e4441230dc4d4e5d21:df43191c-0af1-4d70-8e2c-820ee2414fbe","mention",[358,41],"client",[126,360,41],"aaaaa37ead1843c94b9449ef159422fdae6ee84ffc8b48e4441230dc4d4e5d21","pubkey","Aryna Sabalenka stops US Open contest due to strong smell of marijuana\nBecoming World No1 'means a lot to me' says Sabalenka\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzp2425dl26xzre99egj00zk2z9ldwdm5yllytfrjygy3sm3x5uhfpqqjxge35xvcnjvtr95cxze33956xgdes95ux2vnr95uryvr9v5ergvf5ve3x2pp4ygp ","created_at",1788557208,"authorNPub","markdown","freeMarkdown","kind1EventId","kind30023EventId","dd001425ce2b63af9b5af7a32dc2dfd8c003471ab137b5052e6f75332d93ff1c","kind30023",{"_21":370,"_348":373,"_123":374,"_70":375,"_361":360,"_252":389,"_363":390},"f4d01aaf7abb20080d6d2dd2b8f3e5f1de348a5b8ff5718bb739bf436c51563e4a84f91ceee0f01de03c9a9680a4c156c63c90ce6e4c7c8b794b30cae3f68f43",30023,[376,379,380,383,384,386,387,388],[377,378],"r","https://uk.layer3.press/articles/df43191c-0af1-4d70-8e2c-820ee2414fbe",[33,238],[381,382],"published_at","1788556956",[37,245],[385,233],"d",[274,239],[358,41],[126,360,41],"World number one Aryna Sabalenka requested a pause in her US Open match due to a strong marijuana odor, which she reported to the umpire. Despite the distraction, Sabalenka maintained her composure and went on to win convincingly in straight sets, continuing her dominant performance.\n - Aryna Sabalenka asked for a match interruption due to a strong smell of marijuana.\n - The smell reportedly came from spectators in the stands.\n - Despite the distraction, Sabalenka won her match in straight sets.\n - This is not the first time players have complained about the smell at the tournament.\n - Recreational cannabis use is legal in New York state.\n https://uk.layer3.press/articles/df43191c-0af1-4d70-8e2c-820ee2414fbe",1788556956,"publishedToNostr","htmlContentKind30023","