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 title.

Sabalenka said afterwards she was not sure where the smell of cannabis was coming from but asked fans to be more mindful.

Smoking is not permitted on site at Flushing Meadows but the smell of cannabis sometimes wafts on to court from the nearby Corona Park.

It is legal to smoke it in New York for adults aged 21 and over.

“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.

“I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

“I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”

Sabalenka is not the first player at this year’s US Open to complain about the smell of cannabis at Flushing Meadows.

Britain’s Katie Boulter previously said it was distracting, while Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones also noticed the smell.

In past years players including Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have also complained.

Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah has welcomed his third child and first son, named Lail, Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan said after the Turkish club’s third-round league match against Amedspor.

Doğan said Salah and his Cameroonian teammate André Onana travelled outside Turkey following the match as their wives were due to give birth.

“After the Amed match, we travelled abroad with Onana and Salah. Onana welcomed twins, while Salah welcomed a baby boy. I congratulate their families and wives,” Doğan was quoted as telling Turkish media.

Salah’s sister, Rabab Salah, later revealed the baby’s name on Instagram, posting a photograph of a baby hat and congratulating her brother on the birth of Lail.

The child is Salah’s first son. The Egyptian star and his wife, Magi, already have two daughters, Makka and Kayan.

Doğan’s comments came after a photograph of Salah and Onana aboard a private jet circulated online, prompting questions among Trabzonspor supporters and local media about the reason for their trip.

The club president said both players had travelled for family reasons following the match.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims by Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso that President Bola Tinubu can be defeated in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the ruling party remains confident of retaining power.

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, said the APC would win the presidential, governorship and other elections in Kaduna State, rejecting claims of growing opposition to the party in the North.

Musa spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, shortly after Obi and Kwankwaso told supporters in Port Harcourt that they were prepared to resist any attempt to manipulate the 2027 election.

Asked whether the APC could lose Kaduna, Musa said, “APC will win in Kaduna. That I know.”

Pressed on whether his prediction covered the governorship and presidential elections, he replied, “Definitely. Presidential, governorship, and all levels.”

Musa also rejected suggestions that northern voters were turning against the APC and defended Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the President had taken “very painful decisions” whose benefits would become clearer over time.

Earlier, Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, told supporters that voters would not allow their ballots to be subverted at polling units, insisting that attempts to manipulate the 2027 election would face resistance.

Kwankwaso, Obi’s running mate, warned against assuming that control of state governments guaranteed victory at the presidential level, citing the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 despite being the incumbent.

The APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, also dismissed the opposition’s claims as “cheap talk” and “wishful thinking”, reminding Obi and Kwankwaso that Muhammadu Buhari won re-election as a sitting President in 2019.

“Presidential election is not won on empty rhetoric or wishful thinking. We are confident that Nigerians will re elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Basiru said.