New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- World no.1 Aryna Sabalenka was forced to halt her third-round singles match at the ongoing US Open 2026 on Friday due to a strong smell of marijuana from the stands. The incident took place during Sabalenka's encounter against Kamila Rakhimova at the Louis Armstrong stadium.

Leading 30-0 in her third game of the first set, Sabalenka suddenly stopped while serving from the southern end of the court. The top ranked then turned towards the umpire and informed that someone in the crowd must be smoking weed (psychoactive substance), the smell of which is strong.

"Someone is smoking weed," Sabalenka was heard saying to the chair umpire. The Belarusian then asked the umpire to look into the matter as the strong smell of m...