Katie Boulter says the US Open is leaving a bad smell – literally.
As the final major of the season prepares to get underway at Flushing Meadows, the British number one has joined a growing list of players irritated by the strong waft of cannabis drifting across from neighbouring Corona Park.
Cannabis is legal in New York for adults over 21, but smoking is not allowed inside the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That hasn’t stopped the scent seeping into the tournament’s daily rhythm.
On the practice courts, Boulter says it’s hard to ignore.
“You can smell it a lot,” said the world number 60, who opens her campaign against American wildcard Carol Young Suh Lee. “I’m not a huge fan of it. I know a lot of players have complained on some of the specific courts. I've played on one before and I did smell it during my match.
“It's something that I wouldn't like to smell in the middle of my match. I'm trying to focus and then obviously, it takes you out of the moment and you really don't want to. You don't need distractions. So yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of it.”
A recurring issue in New York
This is not a new subplot at the US Open. The smell has become part of the event’s odd folklore in recent years.
In 2022, Nick Kyrgios stopped during a match to complain that a fan smoking courtside was triggering his asthma, forcing the umpire to make an announcement asking spectators to stop. Last year, Maria Sakkari alerted the chair to the smell mid-set, though she later stressed it was no excuse for her defeat.
The United States Tennis Association insists it is trying to keep the problem at arm’s length. It says it works with local police and the parks department to limit smoking on the perimeter of the site.
“While we can't control what takes place off the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this,” the USTA said.
Vigilance, though, can only do so much when a vast public park sits just beyond the fences and the late-summer air hangs heavy over Queens.
British players divided between irritation and humour
Boulter is not alone among the British contingent in noticing the haze.
Fran Jones, who qualified on Friday and faces Poland’s Magda Linette in the first round, recalled her own introduction to Flushing Meadows’ most distinctive side note.
“Last year I made a joke about that, in my first round, and I said to the guy, ‘is this normal?’” Jones said. “Because I was on the stadium, and it's next to the park. He's like, ‘yeah’. And I was like: ‘Well, no wonder I'm playing pretty well.
“This year I'll be like ‘no, lock in, lock in!’”
Harriet Dart, who came through qualifying with a win over fellow Brit Heather Watson to set up a meeting with American Peyton Stearns, met the issue with a shrug that felt very New York.
“I mean it's New York. It's New York,” she said. “I feel like everywhere you walk around, it's everywhere, no?
“It is what it is. Same for everyone.”
That, ultimately, is the crux of it. Some players laugh it off, some bristle at the distraction, but nobody can pretend it isn’t there. As the US Open begins, the tennis will again share the stage with a smell that refuses to stay outside the gates.
