There seem to be a lot of marijuana dispensaries around Flushing Meadows. A testament to all of that would be the tennis players in the US Open. Particularly, Maria Sakkari and Rebeka Masarova. The two were battling it out in Court 17 when they noticed that their whiffs for air had smelled a little different. It was the same scent that Nick Kyrgios had inhaled nearly a year ago at the same event which led to a huge controversy that the ATP had to deal with.
Maria Sakkari knew that it was going to be a tough match against Rebeka Masarova. They faced off way too early at the US Open which meant that one of them had to bow out. Unfortunately, it was the former third-best-ranked Greek player that got the heartbreak.
However, the sweep in two sets was not the main talking point during their post-game interviews at Flushing Meadows. Rather, it was the smell of marijuana that came from the stands. Maria Sakkari revealed what she felt when the sensation hit her nose in the middle of the US Open matchup, via The Tennis Letter.
“It was cannabis. I was not affected by this smell in any way. It was just a comment, it has nothing to do with the match,” Sakkari said when identifying the smell. She also added that it had been lingering through the courts for a long time, ” I smelled it yesterday in practice too. But, it's irrelevant. We can't control it, it's a back park & people can do whatever they want. You don't think about it, all you care about is winning the match. I didn't pay much attention.”
Will the ATP and WTA fix this after Nick Kyrgios and these stars gave their insights?