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”.

During a day off practice ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday, Raducanu suffered bites on her hand and ankle that swelled up and left her considering whether to use an antiseptic spray.

But her anxieties about possible contamination – which has been cited in the recent doping defences of such leading players as Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek – persuaded her to “tough it out because I don’t want to risk it”.

As Raducanu explained on Friday: “I basically got bitten really badly, like, by these, I don’t know, like jumping ants or something. So I spent the second part of my day coming in to sign, seeing the doctor to try to get some remedies, because I had a bit of an allergic reaction. But I’m fine now. I’m allergic, I guess.

“They flared up and swelled up really a lot. 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.

“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].”

Raducanu has been training at full tilt this week after her withdrawal from Auckland almost a fortnight ago. Her issues there involved back trouble, which began unexpectedly during training at the National Tennis Centre in south-west London.

“One morning I was warming up, bent over to tie my laces, and I had a [back] spasm,” Raducanu explained. “I’ve had them before. They’ve usually settled within a few days. But this one niggled for a couple weeks. I had to miss quite a bit of training before I left. Now I’m feeling good and I feel like I can give it my best here.”