British tennis star Emma Raducanu says she turned down treatment for insect bites ahead of this year’s Australian Open over concerns about what she could be putting in her body.

Raducanu, who faces No. 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round, said in her pre-tournament news conference that she got “badly bitten” by ants or mosquitoes Thursday January 9. Despite suffering what she described as an allergic reaction, Raducanu did not administer an antiseptic spray provided to her by someone in attendance.

British tennis star Emma Raducanu's preparations for the Australian Open were disrupted when she was bitten during time off from practice in Melbourne - just days out from the tournament

Emma Raducanu has become the latest victim of Australia’s famously hostile wildlife – although it was not spiders or snakes in her case, but rather “jumping ants”.

The 22-year-old British tennis star said a hand and ankle swelled up but she refused to use an antiseptic spray in case contamination led to a positive doping test.

Raducanu 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.

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.

Emma Raducanu has been left with a swollen hand and ankle after being ‘badly bitten by ants’ at the 2025 Australian Open in dramatic scenes. The British tennis star, world No.60, is unseeded at Melbourne Park and is set to face Russian 26th-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.

Australian Open, the first grand slam tournament of the year and the 113th running of the event, starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday with four British women, including the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu,