The U.S. Open has become one of New York's hottest places to see and be seen. But the tennis players and tennis fans would occasionally like people to watch the tennis.
Players at this year's tournament have complained about an influx of influencers and content creators disrupting matches with photo shoots, bright lights and videos. Meanwhile, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka stopped play Friday for a distinctly New York complaint: Someone was smoking weed.
"Someone is smoking weed," Sabalenka told the chair umpire during her third-round match against Kamilla Rakhimova at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Play resumed and Sabalenka won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The interruption follows growing debate over the atmosphere surrounding this year's U.S. Open, where the number of credentialed content creators has doubled from last year.

#content

Aryna Sabalenka briefly halted her US Open match against Kamilla Rakhimova because of a strong smell of cannabis before cruising into the fourth round in New York.
Top seed Sabalenka raised the issue after going 3-0 up in the first set against Uzbekistan's Rakhimova, telling umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore that "someone is smoking weed".
The Belarusian asked the umpire to intervene "because it's so strong".
Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and made a smoking gesture to someone behind her, before play continued.
Two-time defending champion Sabalenka went on to secure a confident 6-3 6-4 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium as she chases a fifth Grand Slam singles ***** le.

#sabalenka #umpire #smoking #aryna

Aryna Sabalenka isn't having any issues whatsoever in New York.
Sabalenka, after significant issues at earlier Grand Slams this year, rolled into the third round of the US Open with ease on Wednesday night. She cruised to a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Polina Iatcenko at Arthur Ashe Stadium. And she only needed 54 minutes to do so.
It marked her second straight sets victory so far at the US Open, following a slightly less dominant win over Camila Osorio in the opening round. Sabalenka will now take on Kamilla Rakhimova in the third round. Rakhimova beat Oksana Selekhmeteva in straight sets in her second-round match.
Sabalenka looked unstoppable in the first set, and rolled to a dominant 5-0 lead before Iatcenko managed to find a little bit of stability in the match. Up until that point. Sabalenka had only dropped seven total points. There was nothing Iatcenko could do.
Iatcenko got on the board finally with a narrow win in the sixth game, but that was all she could manage. Sabalenka won the next four points, and wasted no time doing it, to close out the first set in less than 25 minutes.

#round #open #issues #Third

An Indian jewellery brand has removed their new advertisement for the upcoming festival of Rakshabandhan, also known as Rakhi, after backlash over the outfit worn by the female lead.
The ad featured popular Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon celebrating the Hindu festival in which sisters tie a thread called Rakhi over their brothers' wrists.
Sanon, who is seen in a cropped top, skirt and a drape, addressed her critics on Tuesday night saying "culture and traditions are in a woman's heart, not in her neckline!"
The row started earlier on Tuesday after actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut called the ad "intentionally creepy" and asked why someone would tie a Rakhi dressed in a bikini.
In her comments posted on social media, Ranaut did not name Sanon, but appeared to be referring to the actor.

#rakhi #ranaut #called

(Corrects lede to 'military-backed government', not 'military government')
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military-backed government has verified that nearly 309,000 displaced people ‌in camps in Bangladesh are former residents of the ‌troubled Rakhine State, but repatriation will proceed only after security in Rakhine improves, the foreign ministry said.
Following are the latest developments in the repatriation of Rohingya residents to Myanmar:
• Myanmar has verified 308,797 displaced people in Bangladesh as former Rakhine residents out of 828,824 ‌names submitted as of ⁠July 31, 2026, the foreign ministry said in a statement over the weekend.
• According to the United ⁠Nations, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017 after a crackdown by Myanmar security forces, and many more are still leaving via uncertain sea and land journeys.

#rakhine #government

TORONTO (AP) — Kamilla Rakhimova beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1 in a rain-delayed match Sunday to kick off the National Bank Open women's main draw.
Granted a singles wild-card entry at the WTA 1000 event, the 46-year-old Williams has lost 12 straight matches dating to July 2025.
"We play outside … you can't control the weather," Williams said. "But the fans were amazing. They were with me right in every point — that was fantastic. I was just fighting to put the ball on the court."
The 24-year-old Rakhimova is from Uzbekistan. She's ranked 82nd in the world.
"Playing Venus is not an everyday experience," Rakhimova said. "I'm very glad to actually get a chance to play against her. I was looking forward to that match. I knew it was going to be a center-court match. I was trying to enjoy my time on it, no matter what the result."

#williams

Emma Raducanu fell short of a dream **** le on home soil after she was defeated 6-0, 7-6 (6) by Croatian lucky loser Donna Vekic at the HSBC Championships in London.
The British No 1 was swiftly beaten in the first set but saved three championship points in the second on the way to a tiebreak, where she saved another and came agonisingly close to taking it to a deciding set.
Rain earlier in the tournament resulted in Raducanu having to power through a two-match day on Saturday, beating Kamilla Rakhimova then American Iva Jovic to reach the first grass-court and third tour-level final of her career.
It meant the Briton had spent two hours and 19 minutes more on court the previous day than her opponent – who played just one match, a swift one-hour, six-minute victory over British No 3 Katie Boulter.
Raducanu was looking for her first trophy since her stunning win as a qualifier at the 2021 US Open, and brought up two set points in the 10th game.