Emma Raducanu has revealed she refused to use an antiseptic spray to treat insect bites for fear of failing a drug test before the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old British tennis star said her hand and ankle swelled up but she refused the treatment in case contamination led to a positive doping test.
Raducanu told reporters at a pre-tournament news conference on Friday: “All of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use.
“Yesterday, for example, I got really badly bitten by I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess.
“They flared up and swelled up really a lot.”
She added: “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 during a practice session in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. Pic: AP
‘I’m a dangerous opponent for anyone’
Raducanu pulled out of her scheduled warm-up tournament in Auckland last week with what she described as a back niggle, but has been training at Melbourne Park this week.
She said the source of the problem was a spasm suffered while training in London.
“One morning I was warming up, bent over to tie my laces, and I had a spasm. That was really it,” she said.
“It took a while to clear. I’ve had them before. They’ve usually settled within a few days. But this one niggled for a couple of weeks. I had to miss quite a bit of training before I left, wasn’t able to play Auckland.”
Asked how she was feeling ahead of the start of the tournament in Melbourne, she said: “I’ve been feeling good. 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.”
She added: “I’ve been playing sets with top players. I’m feeling like I’m holding my own more than okay in those instances and practices.
“I feel pretty good with my game. I’m looking forward to putting it on the match court. I think I can be a dangerous opponent for anyone really.”
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Raducanu faces a challenging start to the campaign – a first-round match on Monday against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“It’s a tricky draw, of course,” she said.
“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.”
The Grand Slam at Melbourne Park begins on Sunday 12 January.
