“Ohhhh it smells like weed in there boy!” “. The oldest among you (or the not so young, it depends) will no doubt have recognized this punchline from Romano, in Difool’s radio show on Skyrock. We couldn’t see any other way to start this article about what happened on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at the US Open, during Gaël Monfils’ match against the Japanese Taro Daniel (victory of the French in four sets).
From the end of the first game, the Monf pointed out to the referee that he was floating like a big smell of cannabis in the stands. “It smells strong there, doesn’t it? It’s nonsense, ”complained the player, while keeping a smile. He is not the first player to bring up this problem of fumes on the courts of Flushing Meadows.
During his victory in the first round against the Japanese Yosuke Watanuki (7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5) Adrian Mannarino also noticed that something was wrong. “At the four corners of the court you smell a little different. It can be weed on one side, shit on the other… It’s not necessarily easy but you have to deal with it, ”he said after the match. “Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell grass,” commented Greece’s Maria Sakkari during her first-round match against Rebeka Masarova. I mean, it’s something that we can’t control, because we’re in an open space. There is a park behind. People can do whatever they want…”
The USTA is investigating
Alexander Zverev meanwhile released the humor card after his victory against Australian Aleksandar Vukic, explaining that “court n°17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room”. “Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed! “, he chained. You should know that recreational cannabis use is authorized by law in New York State “in most places where tobacco smoking is permitted”, but not “inside and on the grounds of sports stadiums” or in parks.
Nevertheless, the number of complaints from players prompted the American Tennis Federation (USTA) to investigate the subject, trying to see if it came from the stands or not. After reviewing the matches on court n° 17, it turns out that there is “no tangible proof” that this emanates from the stands, but rather from Corona Park, located a stone’s throw from certain courts. It would therefore seem that the players will have to put up with it. Anyway, is there a place in New York that doesn’t smell like weed? The question is of course rhetorical.