Joelle King has been surrounded by wāhine toa all her life. Photo / Whakaata Māori
Joelle King - No 1 seed in New Zealand squash and fifth in the world - is happy to show her world-class opponents whanaungatanga off the court.
But on the squash court, there’s no love lost.
Playing in front of her whānau and friends, King knows the task is enormous.
There hasn’t been a New Zealand men’s and women’s tournament here since 1993 because of a lack of funds.
King lives and trains in Bristol in the UK, and says it’s great to be back playing in New Zealand.
“It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, to be honest, because usually we are so far away and you don’t have everyone there who has followed you all your life, so there are a lot of familiar faces out there. It’s really good to showcase squash back home in Aotearoa,” King says.
Twenty countries and 60 world-ranked players including King, world-ranked No 2 and New Zealand’s top seed Paul Coll, from Greymouth, and two others from New Zealand have entered the New Zealand Open men’s and women’s PSA World Tour Silver event.
King’s parents and grandmother were there to watch also.
“I haven’t had all of them watching me since I was a little kid so, towards the end of my career, to have them all here is probably the most special thing about this competition”, King says.
And their presence adds a bit more for her to want to do well in front of everyone.
“But you can only take it one match at a time. Through the first round, the second round and hopefully we can keep going forward,” King says.
Her upbringing has played a major part in her success.
“I have been raised around a lot of strong Māori women, my mum being No 1,” King says.
She also wants to encourage more young Māori girls to take up squash and excel.
“We lose a lot of talent through those teenage years, especially young Māori, and so I am very proud of my heritage. And hopefully, it will inspire more young wāhine to follow on and hopefully follow in my footsteps,” King says.
This week King showcased her culture to some of the world’s best players while welcoming them onto Tahuwhakatiki marae before the beginning of the tournament.
The 60 players from around the world experienced powhiri, haka, waiata, whaikōrero, hongi, and hangi.
“Yes, I impressed myself. I gave a little kōrero in Māori, which was quite surprising, not only for me but also for my mum. I’m proud of being Māori and to share my culture with the rest of the players from all over the world and to see their reaction is really humbling,” King said.
“I feel fit. I’m striking the ball well. It’s just if I am going to hold it together out on the court, it’s one match down and we just take it one day at a time,” King says.
Cambridge-born and raised, she will play her semis today and hopes to take out the New Zealand Women’s Open tomorrow should she reach the finals.
‘This is about a bigger sort of commitment that we have to te reo Māori.’