'Ganjedi' has become a headache for the players coming to watch the matches during the US Open tennis tournament. At the beginning of the tournament, players were troubled by the strong smell of marijuana. Now world number-1 female player Aryna Sabalenka also complained about this to the chair umpire during the third round match, after which the game had to be stopped for some time.
When Sabalenka went to the south end to serve in the third game during her match against Uzbekistan's Kamila Rakhimova at Louis Armstrong Stadium, she stopped due to the smell of marijuana. Reigning champion Sabalenka left the ball after two tosses and immediately went to chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore and told her that someone was smoking marijuana in the spectators' gallery and that the strong smell was reaching the court.
After Sabalenka's complaint, the umpire made the smoking signal to alert the US Open team. After this, members of the US Open team went to the stands to find out where this smell was coming from. The video of this incident is going viral on social media.
Also read: UP T20 League: Title battle between Rinku-Bhubaneswar, who is at the forefront in scoring runs?
Sabalenka made it to the fourth round
Sabalenka continued playing after this and defeated Kamila Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 to enter the fourth round. Sabalenka said after the match, 'Guys, you can do whatever you want. You are free to smoke but please do not do so around the tennis courts. It's a little difficult to tolerate that smell when you're trying to perform at your best.'
Also read: Got a place in the U19 team along with Sehwag-Dravid's sons, why is Rohit Yadav banned now?
Talking about the match, Sabalenka had to face a tough challenge in the second set. He won this set in 54 minutes. He won his second round match in just 53 minutes. She is trying to become the first player since Serena Williams to win 3 consecutive US Open titles. He will face Taylor Townsend in the last-16.