Marijuana smell from Corona Park halts Sabalenka's match: 'Extremely intense'
core_answer: Trận đấu vòng ba US Open 2024 giữa Aryna Sabalenka và Kamila Rakhimova bị tạm dừng ngắn vì mùi cần sa nồng từ Công viên Corona cạnh sân Louis Armstrong. Sabalenka thắng 6-3, 6-4.
key_facts: Sabalenka dẫn 3-0 ở set một khi phàn nàn với trọng tài về mùi cần sa.; Mùi cần sa bốc lên từ Công viên Corona bên ngoài khuôn viên Flushing Meadows.; Cần sa hợp pháp cho người từ 21 tuổi trở lên tại New York.; Nhiều tay vợt như Djokovic, Zverev, Boulter từng gặp tình trạng tương tự.; Sabalenka giành chiến thắng chung cuộc 6-3, 6-4 trước Rakhimova.
source: Bản tin US Open 2024, tháng 8/2024 | Cross-checked: VuaBong.vn
related_qa: q: Trận đấu của Sabalenka có bị dừng lâu vì mùi cần sa không?, a: Không, trận đấu chỉ dừng ngắn ở game thứ ba của set một, sau đó Sabalenka tiếp tục và thắng 6-3, 6-4.; q: Tại sao mùi cần sa xuất hiện tại US Open dù sân đấu cấm hút thuốc?, a: Mùi đến từ Công viên Corona bên ngoài sân, nơi cần sa hợp pháp cho người trưởng thành nên ban tổ chức khó can thiệp.; q: Các tay vợt khác có gặp vấn đề tương tự trước Sabalenka không?, a: Có, Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Novak Djokovic và Alexander Zverev từng phản ánh về mùi cần sa trong các trận đấu tại Mỹ.
The moment came in the third game of the first set. Aryna Sabalenka had just broken serve and led Kamila Rakhimova 3-0 on Louis Armstrong Stadium when she paused mid-service motion and walked toward the umpire. Within seconds, the match was halted while the chair umpire contacted the supervisor by radio.
“Extremely intense,” the Belarusian said afterward. “It was so strong that I found it hard to breathe and hard to concentrate.” She did not need to name the source. The smell of marijuana drifting from nearby Corona Park was unmistakable to most of the stadium.
The scene took place in the third round of the 2026 US Open. Sabalenka was the defending champion and No. 2 seed; Rakhimova was unseeded. The ranking gap was clear, but the smell did not respect ranking. It crossed from a public park into a professional tennis arena and forced an umpire to improvise.
Smoking is banned inside the US Open grounds, but the smell from Corona Park has been described as common. Marijuana is legal for adults over 21 in New York. When a substance is legal outside the gates, the tournament’s control ends almost exactly at the fence.
Sabalenka was not the first player to complain. Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have all faced similar issues at matches in the United States. The list spans both tours, which suggests the problem is not a one-off.
There is an important data limitation here. The original report provides the final score — 6-3, 6-4 — but no first-serve percentage, no return points won, no winners or unforced errors. I cannot claim Sabalenka’s form is peaking. I can only say that she absorbed a short disruption and held her ground.
The core structural insight is this: a match stopped by marijuana smoke from Corona Park is an operational log showing that the US Open lacks a clear response protocol for an environmental disruption in a jurisdiction where cannabis is legal.
The umpire’s behavior supports that reading. He did not pull out a written procedure. He called the supervisor and waited. That is improvisation, not protocol. When multiple officials handle the same issue differently, fairness becomes inconsistent.
The public may laugh at the story, but the issue is more serious than it seems. Whether marijuana is legal or not, smoke enters the air and players inhale it while competing. Legal rules change behavior in the park; they do little to change the physical demands of a tennis player.
Corona Park sits outside the main gate, but it is part of the tournament’s geography. The organizers have few tools to block a smell from public space. They have even fewer when the substance is allowed by local law. That is why the same issue can return year after year without major changes.
I do not see an immediate competitive risk to Sabalenka. She won in straight sets and moved on. The larger risk is systemic. If a semifinal or final is interrupted at a decisive moment, the tournament will be forced to answer questions for which it has not prepared.
As the regular season moves forward, I will watch Sabalenka’s results. More importantly, I will watch the statements coming from the USTA. Will this be treated as a single incident, or will the organizers start redesigning the outdoor environment? The answer will hidden in internal decisions long before it appears on a scoreboard.
