![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/USOPEN-610X150-Slide.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFour-time US Open champion Djokovic notes the smell of marijuana has grown so pervasive in Flushing Meadows, he sometimes feels as if he\u2019s playing in a greenhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can really smell the smell, it\u2019s not like you can miss it,\u201d Djokovic told Serbian media. \u201cSome people are more disturbed than others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a fan of the smell either, it stinks. But it\u2019s allowed here and you have to accept it. You can feel it everywhere, from the training grounds to the courts where we play our matches. That\u2019s how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York state legalized recreational marijuana use in March of 2021 (not that any of the Tennis Now team has gone green) and several players, including Djokovic, Casper Ruud, Maria Sakkari and Alexander Zverev, have noted tennis in Flushing Meadows sometimes smells like a smoke show in a ganja game.<\/p>\n
One reason is the US Open is built on Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, one of the largest parks in New York City. While you won\u2019t see fans outside the stadium walking around blowing bong hits, it\u2019s not uncommon to smell weed or see people passing through the park passing a joint while they walk.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a strong NYPD presence around the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but marijuana is legal in New York, cannabis dispensaries are common in the city and some fans smoke up before entering the NTC grounds.<\/p>\n
Casper Ruud, who reached the US Open Mixed Doubles final partnering Iga Swiatek, said the smell of weed is the \u201cworst\u201d part of his annual US Open experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s the worst thing in New York,\u201d Ruud told the media. \u201cThe smell is omnipresent, even on the courts. You have to accept it, but it\u2019s not my favorite smell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite irritating to play, to be tired, and a few meters away, someone is smoking weed. There is nothing you can do about it unless the law changes, but I doubt it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the tax revenue New York State generates from cannabis dispensaries and the fact smoking weed is so common in and around New York City it\u2019s unlikely the laws will change.<\/p>\n
Court 17, which is right near the park, and the Grandstand Court which is adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway and a sidewalk that runs through the park to the US Open gates, are two of the courts which players say can reek of weed at times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few years back, Alexander Zverev famously said Court 17 smells like \u201cSnoop Dogg\u2019s living room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, the US Open buzz brings out the celebratory spirit in fans.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve visited the US Open in recent years, then you know New York fans are a thirsty bunch.<\/p>\n
More than 556,000 servings of Grey Goose vodka\u2019s Honey Deuce drinks were sold at the 2024 tournament by the USTA\u2014 a 23.5% increase over year prior \u2014 resulting in a record-setting $12.8 million in sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe someday, the USTA, diligent in boosting the bottom line, will partner Snoop Dogg, Mike Tyson or Ricky Williams in selling cannabis-infused drinks to brings fans the buzz without the skunky smell that frustrates some players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 29, 2025Photo credit: Miami Open\/Hard Rock Stadium \u00a0NEW YORK\u2014Novak Djokovic has enjoyed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-119977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}