Greg Rusedski has called on US Open organisers to ban the smoking of weed at Flushing Meadows following complaints from a number of players.
Aryna Sabalenka was forced to stop her third-round US Open match against Kamila Rakhimova due to the smell of cannabis inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.
At the time, the No 1 seed complained to the umpire that someone was “smoking weed” and later said it was very “tricky” to handle the smell when trying to compete.
Adrian Mannarino claimed the US Open was turning into a “bit of a zoo” due to the smell of marijuana and the crowds not respecting the usual tennis etiquette, and Katie Boulter said these aromas were off-putting, too.
Although recreational weed use is legal in the city of New York, former world No 4 Rusedski thinks it has no place at the US Open.
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The former US Open finalist said on Off Court, “In New York, it’s legal to smoke weed. You can have it in your possession. From my perspective, I don’t like it at a sporting event. I don’t think it puts a good image for the city.
“What does that say to kids, if you’ve got that smell and stench around? I think the US Open should be a no smoking zone, whether it’s cigarettes, whether it’s weed.
“This is an athletic competition. I don’t understand how the USTA (United States Tennis Association) can’t get together with the mayor of New York (Zohran Mamdani) and say, ‘Look, guys, we don’t want this at our venue and we don’t want this for the image of tennis’.
“I’m not sure if you’re allowed to do that at the American football games and baseball and all those other sporting events, maybe you are, but I just don’t think that sits together with sport and I can understand the player’s point of view.
“I don’t like the smell of it. I don’t like it around that environment and I think they’ve got to do something about it. I agree with Boulter. I agree with Sabalenka. It has no right, I believe, to be at the US Open, to be at majors, to be at tennis tournaments.
“It’s the wrong image. It’s the wrong message. Yes, society’s opened up in that respect. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but that’s just my view.”
Rusedski believes that USTA CEO Craig Tiley will listen to the concerns of players and address this matter. And if the “image” of this Grand Slam is not right, the tournament and the city could suffer financially, due to the negative knock-on effect of this.
He added, “He [Tiley] will take all these things in from the players. He will find solutions. He did a great job with the Australian Open. Because this is a global image and if we’re talking about it, other people around the world are talking about it. This is a premier event that makes hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Not only for the tennis tournament, the USTA, but also for the city of New York with hotels and everything that’s encompassed is probably maybe a billion to $2billion revenue for the city and the tournament. So they want to get this right and they want to get the right image. So I think next year, I don’t think we’ll be talking about these things.”
READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka plunges US Open in fresh controversy over week comments
