Joelle King is one of the leading New Zealanders on the world tour and is the defending champion of the Hong Kong Open after her success in 2018. She has done exceptionally well after coming back from a serious Achilles injury sustained in 2014. She won her first tour title in 2008 at the North Island Championships and followed that up with three further titles a year later. 2010 was a fine year for King who won the prestigious Texas Open and claimed a gold and silver medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She was elevated into the world’s top 10 for the first time in 2011 and moved into the top five while also claiming the Macau Open in 2012. The New Zealander also followed with a semi-final appearance at the first event of 2021, the CIB Black Ball Open, and also made it into the last four of the Oracle NetSuite Open, along with several other quarter final results at major tournaments. King finished runner-up at the Squash on Fire Open in her first appearance of 2022, before making a string of semi-final appearances, making it to the last four of the Windy City Open, CIB Black Ball Open and the Allam British Open. She then won the Manchester Open, her biggest title of the season.