By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Returning to Tennis Paradise, Iga Swiatek revels in the grass game.
Bouncing around the lawn, Swiatek gets her kicks playing pick-up soccer.
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Meeting the media at the BNP Paribas Open today, the world No. 1 said she's considering a signifcant change.
Swiatek is contemplating streamlining her schedule and reducing the total number of tournaments she plays to prepare and peak for the Slams and 1000 events.
Given the Olympics will be staged at Roland Garros this year, three-time Roland Garros champion Swiatek is committed to a complete calendar this season, but envisions editing her schedule in the future.
"Maybe in the future it will be smarter to become this kind of player who is missing some tournaments, but really focusing on the important ones," Swiatek told the media in Indian Wells. "Really scheduling your calendar in a way that you are not rushing to get points or anything. But you’re really doing it step-by-step like some of the top players—older and more experienced ones—I’m still kind of thinking about it.
"But I’m at this stage where I want to play everything. Especially the tournaments where I know I felt comfortable at. For sure before Olympics it would be hard for me to decide I’m gonna miss this one. Just to stay fresh and have appropriate time for recovery. So we’ll see but if it’s gonna be necessary we may do that."
Grand Slam champions ranging from Serena Williams to Maria Sharapova played more selective schedules as their careers progressed.
The 22-year-old Swiatek says playing for an Olympic medal for Poland is a top priority.
"For sure I want to be ready for Olympics," Swiatek said. "It’s an important tournament. On the other hand you have many chances in tennis. I would love to perform well there but I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself."
After successfully defending her Doha championship, Swiatek carries a 14-2 record into Indian Wells—and says she's aiming to go the distance this season.
"These are the voices in my team telling me [to reduce the schedule]," Swiatek told Tennis Now's Chris Oddo at her presser. "I still feel like I can play a lot. I can handle it. So I want to try and I don’t want to miss any opportunities.
"But I think if I’m gonna get smarter it’s gonna come with experience and I’ll be able to make this decisions. But for now when we talked about it, we realized I really like all these tournaments being held right now especially on clay as well.
"So I wouldn’t feel comfortable missing any honestly."
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis