Notorious US Open outer court and reek of weed

The sickly smell of marijuana drifting in from an adjacent public park space has drawn complaints from players on the eve of the Sunday US Open start.

One of the main players who suffered the distraction was Briton Katie Boulter, who  let her feelings be known in no uncertain terms.

“Yeah, I have experienced it,” she said when asked about the smell. “You go down to the practice courts and down in the park courts, you do smell it a lot.

“I’m not a huge fan of it. As I said, I know a lot of players have complained on some of the specific courts.

“It’s something that I wouldn’t like to smell in the middle of my match. I’m trying to focus and obviously it takes you out of the moment and you don’t need distractions.”

In the recent past, the noxious fumes have also invaded the air space of  four-time champion Novak Djokovic.

“You can really smell the smell, it’s not like you can miss it,” he said here a year ago.

“Some people are more disturbed than others. I’m not a fan of the smell either, it stinks. But it’s allowed here (legally) and you have to accept it. 

“You can feel it everywhere, from the training grounds to the courts where we play our matches. That’s how it is.”

The dodgy practice courts and minor showcourts around the edge of the 900-acre grounds at the public New York venue seem to be the most exposed to the puffing habits of non-tennis civilians outside the grounds of the highly guarded sporting complex 

In a bit of sweet irony, Australian Nick Kyrgios – now facing a ban after testing positive for cocaine – complained in the past about the reefer smell drifting into the tennis space.

“It was f***ing marijuana. Obviously, I’m not going to complain about food smells, but probably not something I want to be breathing in between points.”

The USTA said it is not their problem: “While we can’t control what takes place off the grounds, we continue to be vigilant as we maintain this facility as a smoke-free environment.

“This includes enforcement by our security and guest services teams when they are made aware of any individual that may be smoking, making them aware that although it may be legal in New York, that smoking is not permitted on parks property, including the tennis centre.

“We constantly work with the NYPD and Parks Department, and we believe this has helped to decrease smoking near our fence line.”