Aryna Sabalenka complained to the umpire about a strong smell of cannabis during her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova at the US Open. The world No 1 came through in straight sets, beating her unseeded opponent 6-3 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium, but after racing into a 3-0 lead in the opening set, Sabalenka complained to umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore at the first changeover.

"I was like, 'Guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please to not do it around the tennis courts'," Sabalenka told reporters afterwards. "It's a bit tricky to handle that smell while you're trying to compete at your best." No fans were found to be smoking and ejected from the tennis grounds.

Sabalenka added: "I don't know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside, because the wind blows it into the stadium. I don't know. I just hope they're going to be a bit more aware of that stuff." US Tennis Association spokesman Brendan Mc Intyre said 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 facility as a smoke free environment."

The distraction didn't affect Sabalenka's form as she didn't miss a single first serve until the seventh game. Rakhimova came from behind four-straight times to hold serve, saving four break points, before Sabalenka finally ended her resolve in the ninth game of the second set to book her spot in the last 16.