INDIAN WELLS: Energetic Iga Swiatek vowed on Wednesday to go all out in the run-up to the Paris Olympics, with the world number one unwilling to moderate her busy WTA tournament schedule.
Swiatek, who won the title in Doha last month before her shock semi-final exit in Dubai, said she still wanted to play “everything” in a bid to be ready for the Games starting on July 26.
“Some voices in my team are telling me to play smarter and miss some events, focus on the important ones, maybe not rush for ranking points,” the top seed said on the opening day of the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters.
“I thought about it, but at this stage I still want to play everything,” said the 22-year-old Pole. “It would be difficult for me to decide to miss tournaments and take time to be fresh and recover.
“Maybe I will do it later, but (for now) I want to be ready for the Olympics and other important tournaments.”
Swiatek admitted in Dubai that she was “down and tired” in her semi-final loss to 40th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya, a defeat that ended her seven-match winning streak.
But she insisted she doesn’t feel the need to lighten her schedule.
“I think I can pay a lot of tournaments,” Swiatek said. “I don’t want to miss any opportunity.
“Maybe when I’m smarter with experience, but I really like all these events, especially on clay. I wouldn’t be comfortable missing something now.”
As the top seed, Swiatek has a bye to the second round in Indian Wells and will open against winner Erika Andreeva and American Danielle Collins, who is on a career high this season.
Swiatek, who was champion in the California desert in 2022, defeated Collins in the second round of the Australian Open before falling to unseeded Czech Linda Nosková in the third.
