Tennis star Emma Raducanu had a moment of shock shortly before the start of the Australian Open. The young British woman had an uncomfortable encounter Down Under and had an allergic reaction to an insect bite. She decided not to treat the wound for fear of a possible doping offense.
Australian wildlife offers more than one species you’d rather not encounter. Tennis star Emma Raducanu was unlucky that she did it anyway on Thursday (local time). As the British woman reported in a press conference on Friday, she was bitten by an insect. About “an ant or a mosquito or something.”
Her body then had an allergic reaction to the bite. The affected areas, her wrist and ankle, were immediately “severely swollen”. Someone wanted to give her an antiseptic spray, “but I didn’t want to take it. I was left with my swollen hand and ankle.”
Wounds not treated due to doping concerns
Raducanu didn’t want to take any risks and possibly risk a doping offense by using the spray. “That’s of course a concern that we have. We’re all in the same boat,” she said in view of a possibly contaminated sample, as had already been the case with world number one Jannik Sinner this year.
Raducanu emphasized that the allergic reaction will not have a lasting impact on her preparation for the Australian Open, let alone her form. “I’m feeling good. I’ve been training well the last few days. Getting back on the pitch and getting used to the conditions here has been good for me. I feel ready to give my best here.”
Your “best” will also be urgently needed in order not to say goodbye to the tournament early. The world number 27 is already waiting in the first round. Ekaterina Alexandrova is a stumbling block to the current number 60 in the ranking. Raducanu could meet Iga Swiatek as early as lap three – one of the most difficult tasks the circuit has to offer.