Everyone high, or what? Cannabis fumes at the US Open annoy tennis players

Last week, Casper Ruud reached the final of the US Open mixed doubles competition alongside Poland's Iga Swiatek ; the pair received $400,000 in prize money. Quite a lot for three victories in an exhibition event of limited sporting significance.

But for Ruud, 26, it was apparently not enough compensation for the ordeal he had to endure. "For me, that's the worst thing about New York: the smell of cannabis everywhere. Even here, where the tournament is being played," he says. "I find it annoying that people smoke joints while we're on the court. It's not fun when you have to inhale hashish as a tired player. But until the laws change, there's nothing we can do."

Ruud isn't the first to spot clouds of grass over Flushing Meadows. Martina Hingis once felt the same way, and Alexander Zverev said it smelled like "Snoop Dogg's living room." It's important to note that Snoop Dogg, the rapper and businessman, employed a personal "blunt roller" for years, a person who did nothing but roll his joints.

Cannabis consumption was legalized in New York four years ago. Smoking is technically prohibited on the grounds of the US Open, but in the age of vapes, control is almost impossible – on some days, more than 70,000 people line the grounds. And reportedly, a cloud of smoke from neighboring parks also drifts across the courts from time to time.

You'd think you'd survive that as a tennis professional. But it's not surprising that sensitivities are particularly high in this sport. As a spectator, you're tolerated at best in tennis; you're welcome to pay the entrance fee, but under no circumstances should you make a noise or move during a rally . If Ruud has his way, the etiquette would probably have to be expanded to include not pulling on a devil's gag within a five-kilometer radius.

At least Ruud no longer has to worry about losing his second-round match against Belgian Raphaël Collignon as a huge favorite. What might be in his favor, who knows? In any case, Ruud recently complained about how much the Norwegian government is taxing him on the prize money he won.

"It hurts to have to pay so much. I think this is completely the wrong approach; the government is shooting itself in the foot," he told the Swedish business newspaper "Dagens Industri" – presumably while sadly poking at canned ravioli warmed over an open fire. Ruud has earned just over $21 million in his career so far, not including endorsements. "Norway means teamwork; everyone contributes their part to one of the best-functioning societies in the world," retorted centrist politician Per Martin Sandtröen.

Ruud is said to have since abandoned any idea of ​​moving away from Norway. Should he ever change his mind, New York is supposedly quite nice.

An article from the « NZZ am Sonntag »