"The US Open has always been the unruliest of tennis's four grand slam tournaments, a place where the soundtrack is as much screeching trains, the roar of air traffic overhead and well-lubricated crowds as it is the thwack of racket on ball. Frances Tiafoe likes to call it organized chaos, the sort of life-affirming atmosphere that he says teases out his best performances."
"Alongside the honey deuce cocktails and free-flowing Heineken, a different vice has threaded itself into the fortnight: the pungent and unmistakable odor of marijuana. It drifts across the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with enough frequency that players have begun treating it as not a bug but a feature of the event itself. Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open runner-up from Norway, was the latest to complain during last week's mixed doubles tournament while paired with Iga Swiatek."
"For me, this is the worst thing about New York, he said. The smell of cannabis. It's everywhere, even here where the tournament is being played. But we have to accept it. I think it's annoying to be on the court while someone smokes a joint. It's no fun for us players to be tired and have to inhale the smell of hashish at the same time. We can't do anything about it unless the law changes, but I doubt that will happen."
The US Open combines urban noise—screeching trains, air traffic and lively crowds—with a carnival-like atmosphere some players call organized chaos. In recent years the pungent odor of marijuana has become a recurring element, drifting across the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during matches. Many players now treat the smell as a feature of the event, while others report it as disruptive and unpleasant during play. Casper Ruud described the smell as ubiquitous and said players cannot do much without changes to the law. Danish media have nicknamed Court 17 "hash-banen." The USTA has maintained a strict no-smoking policy since at least 2011.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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