{"id":287045,"date":"2023-08-29T07:39:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=287045"},"modified":"2023-08-29T07:39:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:39:07","slug":"us-open-star-complained-she-could-smell-weed-on-court-during-first-round-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/nba\/us-open-star-complained-she-could-smell-weed-on-court-during-first-round-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open star complained she could smell ‘weed’ on court during first round exit"},"content":{"rendered":"
Maria Sakkari complained that she could smell weed during her first-round exit at the US Open – but refused to use it as an excuse.<\/p>\n
The world No.8 lost in straight sets to Swiss-born Spanish star Rebeka Masarova, who is ranked 63 places below her, to provide the first big shock of the tournament.<\/p>\n
The 6-4 6-4 defeat came after the 28-year-old told the umpire that a certain smell was coming from a nearby park in New York, which she elaborated on in a post-match press conference.<\/p>\n
She said to the umpire during the contest: "Oh my God… I think it's from the park." Then added: "We were practising here yesterday and it was the same."<\/p>\n
READ MORE: World's richest tennis player necked can of Heineken before drug test at US Open<\/b><\/p>\n
Speaking to the press after the game she said: "It wasn't the smell that affected the scoring.<\/p>\n
"It was just a comment because it was smelling quite a lot, but it has nothing to do with the match."<\/p>\n
She concluded: "Sometimes it smells food, sometimes it smells cigarettes, sometimes it smells weed, it's something we cannot control because we are in an open space.<\/p>\n
"There is a park behind, people can do whatever they want."<\/p>\n
Would you mind smelling weed while playing sport? Tell us in the comments section below.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When further discussing her loss, Sakkari broke down in tears before suggesting she may take a break from the sport.<\/p>\n
The complaint comes a year after Australian star Nick Kyrgios made a similar observation during his win over Benjamin Bonzi.<\/p>\n
He said: "People don\u2019t know [it but] I\u2019m a heavy asthmatic. When I\u2019m running side to side, I\u2019m struggling to breathe, [so it is] probably not something I want to be breathing in between points."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In New York, it is legal for adults aged 21 or over to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis.<\/p>\n
The tournament is held in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which is surrounded by green areas.<\/p>\n
The competition runs until September 7, with more than \u00a350million in total prize money and over \u00a32m to the winners in each singles' draw.<\/p>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Maria Sakkari complained that she could smell weed during her first-round exit at the US Open – but refused to use it as an excuse. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n