Emma Raducanu suffers ant bites before Australian Open
The 22-year-old refused to treat the swelling over fears that she could fail a drugs test.
Emma Raducanu has revealed she was “badly bitten by ants” ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne but refused to use an antiseptic spray over concerns surrounding recent anti-doping cases involving Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.
Raducanu said she was left with a swollen ankle and hand after the insect bites triggered an allergic reaction but the former US Open champion opted to “tough it out” because she didn’t want to risk failing a drugs test.
The tennis world was rocked last season after it emerged that World No 1s Sinner and Swiatek tested positive for banned substances. Swiatek accepted a one-month ban after proving she was contaminated by a supplement to combat jet lag, while Sinner was cleared after it was ruled he was contaminated by his physio during a massage.
Both cases have led to players taking an apprehensive approach to additional supplements and medications, as Raducanu explained following her insect bites on the eve of the tournament in Australia.
“I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take onboard, and what we use,” the 22-year-old said. “Yesterday, for example, I got really badly bitten by like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess.
“They flared up and swelled up really a lot. Someone was, like, giving me this antiseptic spray, natural, to try to ease the bites. I didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want to spray it.
“I was just like left there with my swollen ankle and hand. I was, like, I’m just going to tough it out because I don’t want to risk it.
“It’s obviously a concern on our mind. We’re all in the same boat. I think it’s just how we manage as best as we can the controllables. If something out of our control happens, then it’s going to be a bit of a struggle to try and prove.”
Raducanu also declared herself ready to compete with the top players at the opening grand slam of the season after recovering from a back spasm that forced her to pull out of her scheduled warm-up tournament in Auckland last week.
She has been handed a difficult draw against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who she had been due to play at Wimbledon last summer before the Russian pulled out.
“I’ve been feeling good,” she said. “I think the last 10 days I’ve had a positive block of training. Coming back on the court, adapting to the conditions here, has been good for me. Now I feel good and I feel ready to give it my best here.
“It’s a tricky draw, of course. Being unseeded, you can play any top opponent. She’s a player with a lot of experience. I guess I’m coming in with the underdog mentality. She’s been in this situation many more times than I have.”
