The 2026 US Open is facing a huge credibility crisis midway through the tournament, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka the latest high-profile player to speak publicly about an ongoing issue that may be hard to solve.
Sabalenka stopped her third-round US Open match against Kamila Rakhimova to complain to the umpire about the smell of weed inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, with her decision to halt the match highlighting an issue that was also raised by British No 1 Katie Boulter earlier in the tournament.
“Someone is smoking weed,” Sabalenka told the umpire. “Would you mind to (tell them to deal with it) because it’s so strong?”
She expanded on the issue in her post-match press conference as she said: “Guys, you can relax any way you want and you can smoke anything you want, but please don’t do it around the tennis court.
“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you are trying to perform at your best. There is nothing else to say about weed. I’m just asking people not to smoke it around the tennis court.”
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Several players have now spoken about this issue that is a tricky problem for USTA chiefs to resolve, but another issue that is capturing more and more headlines is all of their own making.
Tournament chiefs have invited ‘influencers’ to promote the event and their presence has become a major talking point.
Matches have been halted as the social media creators have been making videos and promoting products during points, with Naomi Osaka less than impressed by their presence.
Coco Gauff offered a more balanced view, but she admitted they need to respect the game.
“I think it’s great to have a different demographic to the sport, and I think I have no problem with influencers,” said Gauff.
“I have met some of them and follow some of them online. Luckily, the ones I do follow online do follow the etiquette and know tennis pretty well.
“I think it’s like any venue you come to, you have to follow the etiquette towards it. I think it may be on some of the brands, too, maybe to have, like, a sign plastered or something in the suites so that they know. Because, you know, sometimes it’s their first tennis match. They don’t know. They have probably been to basketball games before.
“But I definitely think no flash photography, because that does bother [us], and I am one of the more lenient players. There is very few times you hear me complain about noise. The flash (light)… definitely no flash in the points and try not to talk too loud.
“But like with anything, any venue you go to, like if you’re being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn’t show up in jeans. I think it’s just, follow the etiquette of the sport. That’s all.”
The influencer issue has been a subject of intense discussion in recent days and unless the USTA reverse their decision to continue to hand them tickets in seats that are worth thousands of dollars, that issue is not going to change.
Instagram and TikTok are filled with images of influencers promoting themselves and their brands, but it is open to debate whether they are attracting any new fans to tennis.
The end result is a US Open that has a news agenda packed with negative stories and that is a blow to the image of the tournament.
