Iga Swiatek eyes crucial Race points in Indian Wells, says she is "really excited" at the prospect of qualifying for the WTA Finals

Iga Swiatek will open her 2021 BNP Paribas Open campaign on Friday, with crucial WTA Race ranking points at the back of her mind.

Ahead of the start of the tournament in Indian Wells, Swiatek spoke about how excited she was at the prospect of qualifying for the prestigious WTA Finals for the first time in her career. The Pole is currently ranked No. 7 in the Race to Guadalajara.

Swiatek also said, however, that while she was definitely hoping to qualify for the WTA Finals, her focus was on staying focused on the present.

"When we're actually heading to the end of the Race and we are getting closer to this tournament, I'm just getting excited," Swiatek said while addressing journlists on Media Day at Indian Wells.

"On one side, I would really like to qualify, and it's really exciting for me," she continued. "But on the other side, I know that the most important thing is to just stay focused and keep doing the same thing I did during the whole season because sometimes when you just don't think about what may come, it's easier."

Swaitek at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open 2021.

Iga Swiatek went on to state that she wasn't stressed about booking a spot for the WTA Finals this week. The 20-year-old is aware that there are still a few tournaments following Indian Wells, where she can rack up more points to ensure qualification.

The youngster added that above everything else, she was really happy to be injury-free at the end of a long season.

"Still, I know that even if this tournament is not going to go well I still have some chances to get more points," Swiatek quipped. "I'm just really happy that I still have power. I don't have any injury. Because it's the end of the season, many players are coping with that."

"I'm pretty happy that I still have energy and motivation because that's my first [full] year on tour" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek in action at the Ostrava Open

Iga Swiatek is in the midst of her first full season on the WTA tour. The 20-year-old spoke about the demading schedule and admitted that while she didn't know at the start of the year how she would cope, she was happy that she still had the "energy".

Swiatek added that she didn't take any major breaks from tennis this year, before expressing a desire to maintain her level of motivation.

"I'm pretty happy, first of all, that I still have energy and motivation because that's my first [full] year on tour," Swiatek said. "I didn't really know how I'm going to cope with playing tournaments the whole year without basically any break."

"Because of the Olympics, we didn't have any break," she continued. "I just took four days off in the middle of the season, so hopefully it's going to be enough for my motivation to last till the end of the season."