The 2026 US Open is set to begin on Sunday, but as the world's best players prepare for the year's final Grand Slam, some competitors are dealing with an unexpected distraction around Flushing Meadows: the smell of cannabis drifting in from a nearby park.

Britain’s US Open hopefuls have noticed the smell of marijuana wafting over the courts at Flushing Meadows from a nearby public park

British number one Katie Boulter worried the smell could be a ‘distraction’ but compatriot Fran Jones laughed off the issue.