Tennis players at the U.S. Open are complaining about the smell of weed on one of the courts, likening it to hanging out at cannabis connoisseur Snoop Dogg’s home.
Court 17 has become somewhat notorious for its unmistakable odor over the years. Last year, Nick Kyrgios protested about the smell of weed, insisting he was struggling to breathe while playing on the court.
After winning his opening match Tuesday (August 29), Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s 12th-seeded man, addressed the aroma. “Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room,” he said. “Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed.”
On Monday (August 28), world No. 8 Maria Sakkari complained about the smell of weed on Court 17 during her first-round loss to Rebeka Masarova.
“The smell, oh my gosh. I think it’s from the park,” she said, advising the umpire about the scent of weed.
Maria Sakkari smells weed during tennis match. pic.twitter.com/JDRvAV8NXc
— MMA Cardinal🥇🥊 (@MmaCardinal) August 28, 2023
Despite the complaint, she did not blame her straight-set loss on the weed smell lingering over the U.S. Open.
“We were practicing here yesterday, and it was the same,” she said in her post-match news conference. “It wasn’t the smell that affected the scoring. It was just a comment because it was smelling quite a lot, but it has nothing to do with the match.”
She continued, “Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed. I mean, it´s something we cannot control, because we’re in an open space. There’s a park behind. People can do whatever they want.”
United States Tennis Association officials reviewed video of the match and found “no evidence” of anybody smoking weed on Court 17. Like Sakkari, officials speculated the smell may have wafted over from Corona Park, which lies just outside the gates of Court 17.