The High Stakes of Smell: Sabalenka's US Open Interruption Exposes a Larger Problem The latest controversy at the US Open has nothing to do with shot placement or serve speed.
Instead, it revolves around something more ephemeral and confounding: smell.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka halted her match against Kamilla Rakhimova mid game, asking the umpire to address a pungent whiff of cannabis wafting into Louis Armstrong Stadium.