{"id":327102,"date":"2023-08-29T22:53:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T22:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327102"},"modified":"2023-08-30T04:03:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T04:03:18","slug":"us-open-marijuana-smell-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327102","title":{"rendered":"US Open marijuana smell 'everywhere'"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s become a stink at the US Open<\/a>: a pungent marijuana smell that wafted over an outer court, clouded the concentration of one of the world\u2019s top players and left the impression there\u2019s no place left to escape the unofficial scent of the city.<\/p>\n

While the exact source of the smell remained a mystery Tuesday, one thing was clear: Court 17, where eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari complained about an overwhelming whiff of pot during her first-round loss<\/a>, has become notorious among players in recent years for its distinctive, unmistakable odour.<\/p>\n

\u201cCourt 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg\u2019s living room,\u201d Alexander Zverev, the world\u2019s 12th-seeded man who won his opening match said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, it\u2019s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stung by stories in the wake of Sakkari\u2019s match that made it appear the US Open's stands are the sporting equivalent of a Phish concert, the United States Tennis Association conducted its own investigation, of sorts, to weed out the source of the smell.<\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Spokesman Chris Widmaier said the USTA questioned officials and reviewed video of the midday match and found \u201cno evidence\u201d anyone was smoking pot in the stands of Court 17, leading to the speculation it may have come just outside the gates of the intimate stadium from adjacent Corona Park.<\/p>\n

And he may not be just blowing smoke. Sakkari herself suggested just that when she complained to the chair umpire while up 4-1 in the first set: \u201cThe smell, oh my gosh. I think it\u2019s from the park.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed. I mean, it\u2019s something we cannot control, because we\u2019re in an open space. There\u2019s a park behind. People can do whatever they want," Sakkari told reporters after her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Rebeka Masarova.<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/p>\n

Flushing Meadows security staffer Ricardo Rojas, who was working the gate outside Court 17 on Monday, said he took a break in the park around the time of Sakkari\u2019s match and "there was definitely a pot smell going on.\u201d But he noted that while he enforces a strict no-smoking policy inside the USTA\u2019s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the park is \u201coutside my jurisdiction".<\/p>\n

It\u2019s legal in New York for adults 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of cannabis and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis for personal use, and they may smoke or vape cannabis wherever smoking tobacco is allowed.<\/p>\n

Adam Placzek, who attended the match on Court 17 with two friends from Hartford, Connecticut, said he smelled it but didn\u2019t see anyone in the stands it could have been coming from. He admits he \u201cpartakes from time to time\u201d but never would dream of lighting up at the US Open.<\/p>\n

Watch US Open 2023 live and free on <\/strong><\/em>9now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Alternatively, you can stream every match live, ad-free and on demand on <\/strong><\/em>Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, with centre court in 4K UHD.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/p>\n

\u201cMy boss heard about the pot story at the US Open and texted me,\u201d Placzek said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe told him we were there and he was like, \u2019Well that explains the smell!\u201d'<\/p>\n

Other players in past years have complained about the pot smells emanating from Court 17, a 2,500-seat arena that opened in 2011 in the extreme southwest corner of the complex with little buffer to the park.<\/p>\n

Wimbledon champion Market Vondrousova, who easily won her match on Court 17 on Tuesday, told a similar story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI smelled it actually today also. You smell it a lot. I think it's just Court 17. That court is so far away, it's almost in the park. I think it\u2019s coming from the park," Vondrousova said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/wwos\/status\/1696705669989278155<\/a><\/p>\n

Sakkari, a semifinalist at the US Open two years ago, said the smell didn\u2019t affect her while playing. Still, some fans at Flushing Meadows had little patience for the notion that a top player would be thrown off mentally by the smell of pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s New York. It\u2019s everywhere,\u201d fan Diane Patrizio of Southampton, New York, said as she stood in line to enter Court 17.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what are you going to do?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many distractions at the US Open. To hone in on that one thing and let that rattle you? You just can\u2019t do that."<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/p>\n

Security staffer Rojas said cannabis odours have become an inescapable fact of life.<\/p>\n

"Turn every corner and you smell it. It\u2019s part of our world now. You\u2019ve got to get used to it," he said.<\/p>\n

So what would he tell Sakkari or any other player who complains about pot during a world-class competition?<\/p>\n

\u201cTry it. … It might help you relax.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s become a stink at the US Open: a pungent marijuana smell that wafted over an outer court, clouded the concentration of one of the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=327102"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327109,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327102\/revisions\/327109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/327104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=327102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=327102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=327102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}