Australia is quietly one of the scariest places on Earth, purely from a wildlife perspective. They’ve got sharks and snakes and crocodiles and even that circus freak platypus they’ve got down there.
Now, thanks to tennis star Emma Raducanu, I’m going to lose some sleep over the country’s jumping ants, which I was unfamiliar with, but am going to go ahead and assume that those are ants… that can jump.
Raducanu is down under for the Australian Open, and according to The Telegraph, the British star was enjoying a day off from her usual practice regimen when she was bit on the hands and ankles by some of the ants, which apparently have Michael Jordan-esque hops.
The areas that got chomped on by ants started swelling, which posed another problem for Raducanu: whether or not to use antiseptic spray.
“They flared up and swelled up really a lot,” Raducanu explained. “Someone was 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 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.”
Why? Because other players facing doping allegations have alleged that similar sprays were to blame.
“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 [that a positive test is the result of contamination].”
So Raducanu made the smart choice and decided to let it ride and deal with the bites.
The 22-year-old — who has also been battling a bad back — will get her tournament underway on Tuesday against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
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