Aryna Sabalenka Advances in US Open Amidst Cannabis Distraction
Aryna Sabalenka has dealt with pressure, injury niggles, the grind of a long season. On Saturday in New York, she dealt with something else: the stinging smell of cannabis drifting across a Grand Slam court.
It didn’t knock her off course for long.
The two-time defending US Open champion moved into the last 16 without dropping a set, beating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4, and doing it behind the kind of serving performance that wins majors. Ten aces. No break points faced. Not one.
‘Someone is smoking weed’
The match had barely settled when Sabalenka, already up 3-0, walked towards chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore with a grin and a complaint.
“Someone is smoking weed, do you mind … because it’s so strong,” she said, half laughing, half exasperated.
Later, she expanded on it with the same mix of humour and irritation. She joked that fans could “smoke whatever” and “relax as much as you can”, but drew the line at doing it around the court. Competing at the top level with a heavy cloud of cannabis in the air, she said, is “a bit tricky”.
Cannabis is legal in New York, and the smell has become a familiar part of the US Open experience, floating in from the grounds and the city beyond. Sabalenka has played here for years, but this was different. She said she had never smelt it that strongly at Flushing Meadows, and with the wind swirling, she could not even be sure where it came from — the stands, the outer grounds, or beyond the complex.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”
The smell lingered. Her focus did not.
A champion searching for top gear
This has not been a smooth build-up for Sabalenka. Since blazing through Indian Wells and Miami in March, she has not reached another final. For a player who has sat at No 1 for 97 weeks, that is a long drought.
Here, though, the pieces are starting to click. Three rounds, three straight-sets wins. The serve, which can sometimes wobble under pressure, has become a weapon again. Against Rakhimova, it was ruthless.
She will need every ounce of that level in the coming days. Sabalenka’s hold on the top ranking is under direct threat: she must win a third consecutive US Open title and hope Elena Rybakina, the world No 2, falls before the semi-finals. Anything less, and the No 1 spot is gone.
On court, she looks like a player ready to fight for it. Off court, the strain is starting to show.
‘You guys are, like, a joke’
After her dominant second-round win over Polina Iatcenko, Sabalenka’s press conference turned tense. A reporter framed her week before the tournament as “parties and fun”, referring to her sponsor events and appearances.
Sabalenka bristled.
“You guys are, like, a joke,” she snapped. “‘Parties, fun …’ like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that? Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I’ve been partying, not training?”
It was the second time in the tournament that a question had suggested her off-court obligations might be a distraction. This time she pushed back hard, ending the long, heated exchange with a pointed message to the room: “Think before you say stuff.”
The exchange underlined what is at stake. Sabalenka is not just defending a title here. She is defending an era of dominance, a reputation, a ranking. Every comment, every post, every appearance is being weighed against results.
So far, the tennis is answering for her.
Townsend awaits, New York leans in
The next obstacle is a very different kind of challenge: Taylor Townsend, the home favourite with a game built to thrill a New York night crowd. Townsend backed up last year’s run to the fourth round by doing it again, beating 15th seed Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Townsend brings lefty spin, variety, net rushes and a stadium full of noise. Sabalenka brings raw power and a champion’s scars. It is a contrast the tournament will relish.
One thing is certain: if the wind carries any more distractions onto court, Sabalenka has shown she can swat them away just as decisively as a short second serve.
Medvedev and Alcaraz move through
On the men’s side, the champions kept marching.
Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner, eased into the fourth round with a businesslike 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over 29th seed Arthur Rinderknecht. No drama, no theatrics, just the familiar metronome from the baseline, absorbing pace and redirecting it with icy precision.
If Medvedev’s win felt inevitable, Carlos Alcaraz’s performance carried a different kind of charge — the electricity of a prodigy rediscovering his edge after four and a half months out.
The defending champion dismantled Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, but the scoreline hides the tension of the early stages. In the first two sets, Alcaraz had to think his way out of tight corners, manage his right wrist, and trust that his body would hold up. When the crucial points came, he surged. By the third set, he was in full flow.
“To be honest, I’m better than I thought,” he admitted. He expected to feel worse physically after his opening match, but spoke of recovering well and doing “great things off the court” to stay in shape. The rhythm of competition, he said, is back. Every time he steps on court, he insists, he gives it everything.
Next up is 20th seed Tommy Paul, an American who knows how to drag opponents into long, awkward battles. Paul came through a five-set scrap with 15th seed Alexander Bublik, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.
An in-form Alcaraz, a confident Paul, a packed US crowd. Sabalenka under siege from expectations and the rankings. Medvedev quietly closing in.
The second week in New York is taking shape, and the champions are still standing — for now.
