Novak Djokovic is the latest US Open tennis star to share his opinion on the consistently strong smell of marijuana at Flushing Meadows.
The US Open has had a weed “problem” for several years now as the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Maria Sakkari and Alexander Zverev have all complained about getting a whiff of marijuana when in action at Flushing Meadows.
Back in 2022, Kyrgios said after one of his matches: “People don’t know [it but] I’m a heavy asthmatic. When I’m running side to side, I’m struggling to breathe, [so the smell of weed is] probably not something I want to be breathing in between points.”
And the following year, Sakkari complained while on court as she told the chair umpire during her match: “The smell, oh my gosh. “I think it’s from the park.”
The Greek later added in a press conference: “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.”
Zverev went even further as he referenced American rapper Snoop Dogg.
“Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room. Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed,” the German joked.
And it remains an issue for players a few years later as tennis great Djokovic has admitted it’s more like a “stench”, but as a player you just have to get on with it.
“You can definitely feel it, it’s not like you can’t — actually, you feel it more than anywhere else!” the 24-time Grand Slam winner is quoted as saying by Serbian journalist Sasa Osmo.
“Some people are more bothered, some less. I’m not a fan of that smell either, actually stench.
“But it’s allowed here, and somehow you just have to accept it the way it is. You feel it everywhere, from practice to the match… That’s just how it is.”
Although there is a no-smoking policy at Flushing Meadows, recreational cannabis use has been legal in New York since 2021 and there is not much organisers can do when people are smoking weed in the comforts of their own homes.
Even before the 2025 US Open got underway, Casper Ruud brought the topic back into focus during the mixed doubles event as he told the media he is also not a fan of the smell.
“I come from a place which is very, very different than New York, and grew up closer to the sea and quiet. I’m not a big fan of the smell of weed when you walk around. Seriously, I’m not even joking here. Every corner of every street, you smell it almost anywhere you go,” he said.
“This is not something sportsmen do. …I don’t love the weed smell, that’s the thing I can say. Everything else is pretty cool.”
