British players complain of marijuana smell at US Open practice courts

On 29 August 2026 British tennis players at the US Open in Flushing Meadows reported the smell of marijuana drifting over practice courts from a nearby park, and several said it disrupted their focus.

Players arriving after Wimbledon said they had expected to leave grass-court concerns behind but instead encountered the aroma at Flushing Meadows; marijuana is legal for adults in New York, smoking is not allowed on site, and the smell is reported to waft onto some outside courts from nearby Corona Park.

Katie Boulter, the British No 1, described her experience directly: "Yeah, I have experienced it. You go down to the practice courts and down in the park courts, you do smell it a lot. But, yeah, 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."

Fran Jones, the British No 3, recalled a previous encounter and joked about it in her first round last year: "Last year I made a joke about that, in my first round, and I said to the guy: ‘Is this normal?’. Because I was on the stadium, and it’s next to the park. He’s like: ‘Yeah". and I was: ‘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 along with Jones, added: "I mean it’s New York. It’s New York. I feel like everywhere you walk around, it’s everywhere, no? It is what it is. Same for everyone."

The USTA addressed the issue in a statement: "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."

Arthur Fery reached the first ATP Tour final of his career at the Winston-Salem Open after his semi-final opponent, James Duckworth, retired due to injury; Fery led 6-4, 1-2 when Duckworth withdrew because of an apparent right leg injury. The Wimbledon semi-finalist broke his Australian opponent at 4-4 in the first set, with the second set on serve until Duckworth retired.

The Briton will face Peru’s Ignacio Buse in Saturday’s final in North Carolina, after Buse edged France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 4-6, 6-1; Buse is one place above Fery in the world rankings at No 36 and is the 32nd seed at the upcoming French Open.

Fery, who narrowly missed out on being seeded in New York, faces a tough opening test on his main-draw US Open debut against the world No 14, Lorenzo Musetti.