Emma Raducanu turns down treatment before Australian Open over contamination fears

British tennis star Emma Raducanu declined treatment for insect bites ahead of the Australian Open due to concerns about ingesting contaminated substances. She stated before her first-round match against Russia's 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova that recent high-profile doping cases have made her cautious.

“I was bitten by something, like ants or mosquitoes, I don’t know. I think I was just allergic,” Raducanu said at a pre-match press conference. She added, "They swelled up quite a bit. Someone offered me a natural antiseptic spray to try and help with the bites. But I didn't want to use it; I didn't want to spray it."

“I just had to let my ankles and my hand swell. I thought, ‘I’ll just deal with it, I don’t want to take the risk.’ It’s obviously something we’re all worried about,” Raducanu explained. Last year, the tennis world was shocked when men's world number one Jannik Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol, although he escaped a ban after an independent tribunal ruled he was not at fault or negligent, a decision the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek also avoided a lengthy ban after a tribunal accepted that her failed doping test for the banned substance trimetazidine was due to a contaminated batch of melatonin sleep medication. These cases will continue to be a hot topic in Melbourne, and Raducanu said players must be extra careful.

“We’re all in the same boat. I think it’s just how we manage the controllables as much as we can,” she said. “If something happens that’s out of our control, then it becomes very difficult to try and prove that innocence.”