The US Open is not played on grass, but there was apparently still plenty of green on Monday as the year’s final tennis grand slam began in New York. 

On the women’s side, the eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari lost in an opening round upset to the unseeded Spaniard Rebeka Masarova in straight sets –– a match that the Greek Sakkari let slip away.

Leading 4-1 over Masarova in the first set, Sakkari reportedly complained to the chair umpire about a distinct smell that lingered over the court.

“It was weed,” Sakkari said after the match, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Sakkari never won another game in that set, ultimately losing in straights, 6-4, 6-4, to Masarova.

“The smell, oh my gosh,” Sakkari said. “I think it’s from the park.”

The US Open, held annually in Flushing, Queens, unfolds in a very different setting than most tennis tournaments. Nearby subway trains can be clearly heard inside the venues, and the area –– also home to the New York Mets’ stadium and a park –– attracts plenty of revelers. 

Since 2021, when recreational marijuana was legalized in New York, the familiar odor of cannabis has also become part of the US Open experience. 

At last year’s Open, Australian men’s player Nick Kyrgios also noted the aroma during his second-round match.

“You don’t want to remind anyone not to do it or anything?” Kyrgios said to the umpire in the match, which he won in four sets.

After the match, Kyrgios said that the smell is a hindrance for him on the court.

“People don’t know that I’m a heavy asthmatic so when I’m running side to side and struggling to breathe already, it’s probably not something I want to be breathing in between points,” Kyrgios said at the time.

CNN reported at the time that the umpire in Kyrgios’ match “reminded fans to refrain from smoking around the court as play got back underway.”

Sakkari, for her part, did not have many complaints about the smell, and downplayed its role in her loss on Monday.

“You don’t really think about it, because all you care is just to win the match,” Sakkari said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “I smelled it, but that was it. Like, it wasn’t something that I paid attention to.”

“Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed,” she added. “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.”

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which plays host to the US Open every year, has a strict policy against smoking on the grounds.

“Refrain from smoking, as this is a smoke free environment,”  reads the venue’s code of conduct.

Adult-use marijuana was made legal in the Empire State in 2021, when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law ending the prohibition. The law immediately enabled adults aged 21 and older to toke up wherever smoking is prohibited. 

But Cuomo’s successor, current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, signed a bill into law last year that limits where New Yorkers can get high.

The bill explicitly prohibited smoking “in all state-owned beaches, boardwalks, marinas, playgrounds, recreation centers, and group camps.” 

“Smoking is a dangerous habit that affects not only the smoker but everyone around them, including families and children enjoying our state’s great public places,” Hochul said in a statement after signing the bill. “I’m proud to sign this legislation that will protect New Yorkers’ health and help reduce litter in public parks and beaches across the state.”

Hochul’s office explained at the time that many “municipalities and local governments already have restrictions or bans on smoking in public spaces. This additional penalty will enforce a statewide prohibition and includes a fine that will be collected by localities,” 

“In addition to the health risks posed by secondhand smoke, cigarette butts are a major environmental hazard due to the non-biodegradable filters that are discarded. They are the leading item found during cleanup projects. Through this prohibition, parks and beaches will be kept cleaner and safer as will our local ecosystems,” the governor’s office explained in the press release issued at the time.

Under the new law, which applies both to smoking tobacco and cannabis, violators will be subject to a fine of $50.

New York’s legal cannabis market officially launched late last year, with the opening of a dispensary in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Under the state’s marijuana law, the first 100-200 dispensary license holders will be individuals with prior pot-related convictions. 

“New York State is making history, launching a first-of-its-kind approach to the cannabis industry that takes a major step forward in righting the wrongs of the past,” Hochul said last year. “The regulations advanced by the Cannabis Control Board today will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and left behind. I’m proud New York will be a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building.”

The post Tennis Star Catches Wind of Pot Smell at US Open appeared first on High Times.

The post Tennis Star Catches Wind of Pot Smell at US Open appeared first on Paradise Found.

Nick Kyrgios tasted victory, and caught a whiff of marijuana, in his second round match at the US Open on Wednesday.

Kyrgios, the 23rd-seeded Australian, outlasted the unranked Benjamin Bonzi in four sets to advance in the final tennis grand slam of the year, held annually in New York City.

But Kyrgios was apparently tested by more than just his French opponent. As the two players changed sides in the second set, Kyrgios asked the chair umpire to admonish the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“You don’t want to remind anyone not to do it or anything?” Kyrgios said to the umpire, as quoted by the Associated Press.

CNN reported that the umpire “reminded fans to refrain from smoking around the court as play got back underway.” The smell appeared to be wafting from the concessions in the concourse of the stadium.

“People don’t know that I’m a heavy asthmatic so when I’m running side to side and struggling to breathe already, it’s probably not something I want to be breathing in between points,” Kyrgios said in a post-match interview, as quoted by CNN.

Recreational cannabis has been legal in the state of New York for more than a year, and public usage has become ubiquitous throughout NYC.

Under the new law, marijuana smoking is permitted wherever cigarette smoking is also allowed. That does not apply to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the US Open, which is a strict “smoke free environment.”

Regulators in New York have tried to rein in the public toking by creating other smoke-free refuges. In July, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that prohibits “smoking in all state-owned beaches, boardwalks, marinas, playgrounds, recreation centers, and group camps.” And yes, that includes both cigarettes and weed.

“Smoking is a dangerous habit that affects not only the smoker but everyone around them, including families and children enjoying our state’s great public places,” Hochul said in a statement. “I’m proud to sign this legislation that will protect New Yorkers’ health and help reduce litter in public parks and beaches across the state.”

But New York being New York, those limits will continue to be tested. And at the US Open, the distractions are far more plentiful than at other, more tranquil tennis competitions.

As the Associated Press noted in its match report, the “noise of New York is a challenge for many players, and Kyrgios struggled not only with the chatter of the fans but with the roars of the trains that can be heard from outside the open-air stadium.”

“For someone that’s struggled to focus in my career, I’m really trying hard to put my head down and play point by point, try to dig myself out of some certain situations. It’s hard because there’s a lot of distractions,” Kyrgios said, as quoted by the Associated Press.

“Obviously, a lot of heckling going on as well. People are saying things. I got to be very careful with what I say these days,” he added.

Kyrgios, a mercurial personality known for on-court outbursts, didn’t appear to get much of a contact high from the ambient cannabis.

He was, per the Associated Press, “his usual animated self during the match, carrying on conversations with himself and people in the seats,” at one point receiving “a warning for using profanity when the target of his anger was somebody in his box who Kyrgios didn’t feel was being supportive enough.”

It was hardly the first time Kyrgios has objected to the behavior of the crowd. During the Wimbledon final in July, he complained to the umpire about a woman in attendance, saying it “looks like she’s had about 700 drinks.”

That woman took legal action against Kyrgios last month, saying he defamed her.

The post Tennis Star Nick Kyrgios Calls Fault on Cannabis Smell at US Open appeared first on High Times.

The post Tennis Star Nick Kyrgios Calls Fault on Cannabis Smell at US Open appeared first on Paradise Found.

Nick Kyrgios stopped his match yesterday to complain about marijuana odors. We want to know: Who had the loud?

The post Leafly Investigation: Which celeb was smoking weed at the US Open? appeared first on Leafly.

The post Leafly Investigation: Which celeb was smoking weed at the US Open? appeared first on Paradise Found.