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Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud will look to channel some of the magic he had in the 2022 U.S. Open and get back to the final of the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Ruud lost that final to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. This year, he hoped to get off on the right foot with a victory over Sebastian Ofner in the first round of the tournament.
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Casper Ruud, of Norway, returns a shot during the mixed doubles final at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The No. 12 seed opened up about being back in the Big Apple for the U.S. Open and noted there was one thing he didn’t miss upon his return.
“It’s complicated to be on the court with people smoking joints. Having to inhale that smell of marijuana when we’re tired is not fun at all,” Ruud told Norwegian media. “The intensity of the odor is very strong at times.”
He added that the marijuana smell was the “worst thing about New York.”
Casper Ruud, left, of Norway, talks with Iga Swiatek, right, of Poland, during the mixed doubles semi final at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
“The smell is everywhere, even here on the courts,” Ruud said, via Tennis Up to Date. “We have to accept it, but it’s not my favorite smell. It’s quite annoying to be playing, tired, and just meters away, someone is smoking marijuana. We can’t do anything about it unless the law is reversed, but I have strong doubts that will happen.”
New York legalized marijuana in 2021 but the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a smoke-free facility, according to the U.S. Open website.
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Casper Ruud (NOR) reacts after returning a shot against Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
However, it has not stopped marijuana smoke from coming into the building. Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios complained about the smell in 2022.
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