Emma Raducanu reveals JUMPING ANTS caused her latest injury which saw her hand and foot balloon up
EMMA RADUCANU revealed her hand and foot ballooned up after being bitten by JUMPING ANTS.
The British star, 22, is in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open which kicks off on Sunday.
She was forced to withdraw from her warm-up tournament in Auckland in New Zealand due to a back spasm triggered when she was tying up her shoelaces before practice.
Then after flying to Australia, the Kent ace suffered further problems usually saved for I’m A Celebrity contestants thanks to the indigenous insects.
Raducanu said: “I got bitten really badly by these jumping ants.
“I had an allergic reaction.
“My hand and foot swelled up and I had to come on site to see the doctor and get some remedies.
“But I’m fine now.”
Raducanu, though, refused to be treated with a spray amid fears of accidentally doping.
Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both failed drugs tests last year.
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Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing but the decision has been appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency who want the world No1 hit with a ban.
Swiatek, meanwhile, was handed a one-month suspension following her contaminated results from medicine for jet lag.
Australian Open 2025 women's singles preview
By Joshua Jones
ARYNA SABALENKA is hoping to achieve something no woman has achieved this century: win a hat-trick of Australian Opens.
And few will be betting against world No1 Sabalenka rewriting the history books on January 25.
She dropped just one set in her 2023 and 2024 runs COMBINED and has looked at her imperious best Down Under in recent years.
The biggest test could come in a blockbuster semi-final with in-form Coco Gauff, fresh from beating Iga Swiatek on the way to United Cup glory for the USA.
No2 seed Swiatek’s path to the semis on the other half looks relatively straightforward – even with a third-round meeting with Emma Raducanu.
However, as Linda Noskova, Yulia Putintseva and Alize Cornet have proven in recent years, the Pole is not immune to a shock early Slam exit to an unseeded opponent.
A firing Elena Rybakina can be a serious contender and could face Swiatek in the last four, as could No4 seed Jasmine Paolini or No22 seed Katie Boulter.
Ons Jabeur is an unknown quantity after slipping out of the seeds while Spanish 11th seed Paula Badosa will be hoping to take advantage of an inviting draw.
Watch out for Emma Navarro, though, who has steadily risen up the rankings to world No8.
She reached round three, round four, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals in order at the Grand Slams last year – by that logic, the American billionaire heiress is set for a run to the final in Melbourne.
Now tennis players, including Raducanu, are being extra vigilant to avoid any unfortunate and unexpected incidents.
She added: “All of us are quite sensitive to what we use.
“Someone was giving me this antiseptic spray to try to ease the bites.
“I was like, ‘I’m just going to tough it out because I don’t want to risk it.’”
Australia's jumping ants
THE Jack Jumper Ant is a species of venomous ant native to Australia.
Stinging ants can cause severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). Allergic reactions to Jack Jumper Ants are a uniquely Australian problem.
Jack Jumper Ants are generally 10 to 15mm long with a black body and orange/brown jaws/pincers and limbs.
Jack Jumper Ants do not bite. They grasp the victim in their jaws, then bend and sting them. Their sting is in the tail. They are aggressive and often display jerky, jumping movements.
The stings of Jack Jumper Ants can be very painful and local swellings are common. Large local swellings can also occur, which may last a few days at a time.
Jack Jumper Ants are found in Tasmania, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and in some parts of Western Australia and Queensland.
The ants can be aggressive and often hunt alone.
Source: ASCIA
Raducanu will play No26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her first-round match of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
They were due to meet at the same stage of Wimbledon last year but the Russian withdrew just hours before stepping on to court.
The 2021 US Open winner could face a third-round showdown with No2 seed Swiatek in round three.
And the tough draw means a tennis supercomputer has given her just a 0.4 per cent chance of repeating her Flushing Meadows heroics and going all the way to winning the title Down Under.