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NORTH AMERICA 2010

Well we arrived in Montreal after a 3 week stay in South Africa, it was a huge shock to the system leaving 30 degree heat to -17 degrees in Canada. It didnt take long to get used to it though and now after 2 weeks we have learned to wear 3 layers at least. We are currently in Greenwich about an hour out of New York and getting ready to play my first tournament of the year, the Greenwhich Open. Starting on the 19th of Jan. I have been hitting alot with Glen Wilson from NZ who is living in Montreal at the moment, he is amazing to work with and has a way to get me thinking about what im doing on court and has helped alot with a few small adjustments in my game. 

We are going to be based with Glen for the next few months, so he can help me and also it makes it much easier to travel around to the tournaments in North America. Montreal is very French and most people there speak French as there 1st language, so most of the time Ryan and I have no idea what people are saying to us and what they asking us. We away for 2 weeks now though, from Greenwhich we go to Cleveland for the Burning River Classic and then back to Montreal for a few weeks before we off again to Dayton for the Dayton Open.

We have been away from NZ since the End of October now so Im missing everyone back home, my Family, the crew and everyone in my club back in Hamilton, Oh well only 3 months to go. Ha Ha. Keep an eye out for my results.

Jo-l 

 

 

 

End of the year

 After a rather hectic year am now having a bit of a chance to relax before the New Year.

Still training of course but also holidaying in South Africa with Ryans family.Its my first time here and what an amazing place very similar to the New Zealand lifestyle weather is amazing and lapping up some great tanning time before we take off from here to a freezing cold Montreal.

We ventured to my first safari last weekend and what a beautiful place the whole town was about the animals.In the game reserve we saw alot Rhino buffalo and even Cheetahs which are very rare to see-not bad for my first time hehe.

Not much else to repot pretty quiet for the rest of the year loooking forward to a brand new season hopefully can carry over some more great success.

Merry Xmas and happy New Year to everyone feel free to keep in touch any time I love reading the emails from you all.

Jo-l

 

qatar Classic 23/11/09

What an awesome tournament this has been!!!I've been to a few tournaments around the place but this is certainly one of the better ones Ive played in.
They make everything so easy from picking you up taking you anywhere you wanna go and always makinig sure there is more then enough of everyting you need.

I started Play on the 19th, a first round bye as the 2nd seed in the qualifying draw I faced a tough opponent in young Egyptian girl Nour El Tayeb current number 2 for Junior Women.A tough Match that I managed to pull through in 3 sets happy to get off and get ready for the next day.

Another toiugh match on the cards  I drew 5th seed Madeline Perry of Ireland currently number 8 in the world.I won the first 10-6 playing weell feeling great,up 8-4 in the 2nd lost it 11-9 3rd game 10-6 down managed to make a comeback  to 10all i had a couple of game balls but ended up loosing 14-12 the next game i lost 11-7 but a great game and learning points for me.

We've been having a great time here and have had some awesome hits with the other players left,onto Sharm el sheik tommorrow hoping to finish off a great year with some good squash and a great time in Sharm.

To check out my latest tourenaments you can check out the squashsite.co.uk website for instant results they will certainly be up on there strait away!!!

Jo-l

 

 

 

UPDATE First long leg of our trip out of the way have arrived safely in singapore tired and grumpy!!!!! I know everyone would find it hard to believe that I get grumpy ha ha. Trying to stay awake for the next 3 hours until our next flight is gonna be tough but I have a whole 13 hours to sleep on there. Quick thanks to everyone for there warm wishes through email and text I am missing everyone already.

busy times ahead 09/10/09

The past 2 months have been pretty awesome I turned 21 been doing some awesome training,catchng up with family and friends and getting ready to head away for a four month stint overseas.

In between i played in the Hong Kong open  which is one of the bigger tournaments on the womens circuit but unfortunately wasnt as successful as i hoped.I cant dwell on the past and have to forget about that one move forward and prepare for the next up and coming event.For me  the next event is the Qatar open coming up on the 17th November.Ryan and I take off on thurday the 12th so maybe we will catch up with you all before we leave otherwise look forward to catching up with everyone when we arrive back next year.

Feel free everyone to keep emailing i love hearing from you all.ALl eyes on the site between ryan and I there will be alot more updates from now on.

Jo-l

RELAXING TIME-26/08/09

After a very busy couple of months i now have the wonderful month of september to train and be back home before another stint of tournaments.

As I wrote in my last blog the NZ Open was held at the mount from the 11th of August which was a wonderful spectacle and pretty successful for my first GOLD STAR tournament.Before the main draw I had to get through a tough qualifying draw where i first met young up and coming NZ Junior Lana Harrison and then had a tough match with Donna Urqhart of Australia.The game was tense its quite alot of  pressure playing for those final spots in the main draw with everything on the line points,money and a chance to play the top players in the world.I got throught that tough match and knew it was gonna be another BIG step up for the next game!!!I drew Rachel Grinham current number 4 and ex world champion which seems pretty scary i know but I was able to win and even in 3 straight games which i was absolutely exstatic about and best of all i could do it in front of my friends family and massive support crew that came over from Hamilton and all around the place to support me.

After such an exciting time at the NZ Open I knew it was gonna be a tough ask to get back up for the Nationals but tried to put up my best effort.Things went according to seedings and I was beaten by Jackie Hawkes in the final in 4.She played well and was up for the match i was feeling a little flat but my best efforts on the day just weren't good enough.My time will come sooner rather then later I hope but I am so pleased with all the progress I've made along with my awesome team this year.

Coming up Ryan and I head to Hong Kong in October for the Hong KOng Open which is another bugg tournament so really excited bout that and looking forward to matching up against some more top players.

Will keep updating while away so look out for the results and feel free to email me anytime address is on Sponsors Page.

Jo-l

Coming up.06/08/09

After a busy few months of flying back and forth to Australia I'm having a bit of time back home in Hamilton training,catching up with friends,family, supporters and getting ready for the up and coming tournaments.

Last month was a good one for me some good tournament wins which has seen my ranking rise to 39 up 14 places from the last list and a best ranking to date for me.Im hoping to see a continued rise with even more tournaments through the end of this year coming up for me.

Tonight I will be appearing on CODE,a sports show on Maori TV 8.30pm,with Shelley Kitchen to talk about our latest results and the up and coming tournament NZ Open which will be held froim Next Tuesday 11th at Bayfair Mall,Mt Maunganui.

Keep an eye for reults and up coming tournaments

Jo-l

3's a strike.

Wow what a month it has been for me winning the NSW the VICTORIA and now the AUSTRLIAN OPEN'S.

It feels nice to get some great results after alot of hard work, sometimes it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel but a win like this makes everything worth while!!!!

My confidence was sky high after wiinning the 2 smaller tournaments (NSW and VIC Open) and put me in good stead for the AUSTRALIAN OPEN.I knew it would be tough to win having to meet class players such as Lisa Camelleri,Kasey Brown and Annie Au but very POSSIBLE.

Now im looking forward to the NZ Open happening 12th-18th August At Bayfair Mall. I get another chance to play so more top players in the world and see how i measure up.

Thanks for all the emails and texts of support I recieved hopefully i'll get to catch up with you all soon.

Jo-l

Aussie open here we come

After months of good training with Jason(fitness Trainer) and some good time on court I am feeling really good about the Australian Open. I Finally feel like I am getting to the level of fitness that I need to be at to compete at the top level.

 I have have some good results sofar this year, winning most of the local tournaments. The NSW Open and the Vic Open where both good results for me, I was really pleased to win both those.

 I must thank Leilani's mum and dad who looked after me at both tournaments and I think they will be coming to support me in Adelaide. While staying with them in Sydney they got me onto Xango, which is a health drink that helps your body and immune system. GIVE IT A TRY.

 

FEELING GOOD-25/02/2009

After my scare of going into hospital im now back on track fully fit and healthy and into some awesome training.I"ve been back training for a while now and am looking forward to flying to Malaysia to compete in some tournaments.

I have made many changes over the last few weeks one of them having my new trainer come on board Jason Wheadon (SWEAT GYM)who is one of the newest memberss of my wonderful support team.Jase is a great guy and amazing trainer and has been pushing me through barriers I didn't know were possible until I started working with him!!!!Enjoying that and also hitting with Anthony Ricketts aswel as Leilani Joyce she is helping me in ways I could never thank her enough for!!!!

Whilst this Friday i fly to Malaysia I will be competeing in 3 tournaments in total hopefully the small local tournaments I have been playing here in NZ have put me in good form going away.The First tournament is very strong and will set me up with great competition for the rest of the tournaments,I am due to play Rebecca Chui (world Number 13) in the first round of qualifying which will be extremely tough but never say never im looking foward to putting all this tough training into practice!!!

After a beautiful summer home here in NZ and wonderful time spent with Ryan and the Family im ready for another stint of 3 weeks away and ready to bring home the Bacon!!!hahaha

I will be keeping a post of matches so keep an eye on the site!!!

Jo-L

 

 

 

 

HOME SWEET HOME-11/01/09

 

Its so good to be home after a long 6 weeks on the road,I was meant to head to India after Egypt but after another terrorist attack in Mumbai it was said to be to dangerous for us to travel to Chennai and the World Doubles tournament was called off.

After a rusty start the trip it ended well and i was playing some good squash and even improved my World Ranking to a new high of 45..yay!!!.

I had planned to be home for Xmas and New year to then head to the states for a few tournaments but due to sickness and a night in hospital I made a decision to stay back and get healthy for the long season ahead!!!

During January and February I plan to play a few local tournaments (which i will update onto my schedule page) before heading away to my first WISPA tournament of the new year th CIMB Malaysian Open in Early March.

Jo-L

 

EGYPT-11/01/09

We arrived in Egypt on the 25th Decmeber,after a nightmare flight through Bangkok,Thailand(we were held in the airport for 12 hours because of bomb scare)we made it safely through.I was still like i said in an earlier post wondering how different my experience this time in Egypt would be compared to my previous one 6 years earlier.Instantly,through the airport doors the sun was burnin g diferent smells, cars beeping and jammed i knew this was going to be a....lets say interesting 2 weeks ahead!!!!

The squash at the World Womens Team Event was awesome with alot of the top 10 players taking part and some long tough matches.We ended up 1 place below our seeding at 4 which is hard as your always trying to finish above it but on a good note my own individual performance was enough to keep me smiling acouple of good wins and even a win over Delia who i had lost to the week earlier in Hong Kong.After the World Womens i headed out to the Red Sea resort called sharm el Sheik For another tournament it was amazing!!!The resort was beautiful hard to be somewhere like that and play squash but i managed to have a pretty successful tournament almost taking out the top seed (currently number 3 in the world)Rachel Grinham.After the loss on the 1st round i still had 6 days in this beautiful resort till i flew home to NZ so i made the most of it!!!Sun bathing on big boats by the beach and pool and bartering at the markets by night i had a great time but was now defiantley ready to get home to Ryan and the family and back to my idea of normality!!!!

JO-L

update better late then never-17/11/08

 

Better to be late then never i realise that my beloved website has'nt been updated in a while.

Since the last time i wrote there have been many things going on in my life i turned 20 in September and sadly on the same day my grandfather passed away.I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him befor he passed,a birthday ill certainly never forget!!!!

Im laying here in my hotel room, in the middle of Hong Kong excited to be playing in 1 of the bigest tournaments on the ciruit.Tough game tommorrow through to the second round Playing Delia Arnold of Malaysia, long time friend on the circuit usually a good game and am looking forward to tommorrow!!!

Will keep everyone informed on reults and the trip so keep an eye on the website and fingers crossed!!!

Talk soon Jo-l

xoxo

 

 

 

Always An Upside - 30/08/2008

 

Injuries are never fun but sometimes they are a blessing in disguise...Since injurying my Hamstring it has given me time to take my foot off the pedal ,sit back and finally think about whats next for me.

Nationals at Remuera still bumbed to miss it but mum and I decided we would head up anyway and show support both for the tournament and also my peers who i travel and train with.

After watching some good squash we headed to the final dinner and what a nice suprise i was announced (crutches and all) in the NZ Womens team to travel to Egypt later this year.YAY.I travelled to Egypt when i was 14 and totally oblivious to everything at that age Egypt was the trip of a lifetime so it will be interesting to see if my feeelings are the same going back a bit older and wiser.(cough cough)

Also another couple of big things happening in my squash life i have moved up 3 places to a career high of 52 in the world rankings and have also been announced in the NZ doubles team to compete in the world doubles championships in Chennai this coming December.

A pretty good end to the month after a bit of bad luck during the middle im looking forward to gettin back in to training for the month of september before heading off to play some more overseas tournaments.

Bummer - 22/08/2008

One week out from the NZ Nationals and in final prep, I injured myself during a training session. At first I thought it was a torn hamstring but now it maybe a overstetched muscle. Either way, I'm not able to play for at least 4 weeks and will miss the NZ Nationals for the fourth time in four consecutive years.

Always learning - 6/08/2008

Although I thought I played well, but lost against the Aussie top seed, in the first game at the Mt Maunganui Tournament last weekend, I’ve realised that I can’t expect myself to peak twice within a week, so as always, there’s lessons to be learnt.

Playing in the glass back court in the middle of the Bay View mall was awesome though and I hope more young people will consider having a go, like I did many moons ago. LOL!

I now have to prepare for the NZ National Champs in a couple of weeks with a doubles camp this weekend and that should cap a very intense August. Jo'L

Rapt to reach semis - 3/08/2008

Although I lost in 3 to top seed, Kasey Brown, yesterday, I was rapt to be in a semi final spot and quite satisfied with the fact I shot to a 7-1 lead in the second game. Holding on to leads like that gives me more to work on and more to challenge next time around. Now its time to head home, catch up with my grandad who had a birthday while I was away and to prepare for the WIPSE tournament at the Mount next weekend. Jo'L

Whew! - 2/08/2008

After being one game down, I managed to beat the 4th seed from Hong Kong - shes ranked 33 so I caused a bit of an upset - well thats what one news report said.I'm pretty stoked though and have a tough one this arvo when I face the top seed, so I better get psyched for that - catch ya! Jo'L

Australian Open - 1/08/2008

Sorry Folks! Its been a couple of weeks since this website thing went live and I think it will take a bit of time before I really get into the swing of updating on a regular basis. I'm currently in Adelaide playing in the Australian Open. I won in 3 yesterday (July 30) against a chick from England, so today I'm playing for the quarter finals . I hear I am missing out on the rough stormy weather in NZ at the moment - Eeek! If you want to leave me a message, please email me: message@joelleking.com I will definitely try and respond but its probably wise that I don't make any promises I might not be able to keep huh! Thanks for dropping by anyway. Jo'L

Website Live - 17/07/2008

Today my new website was launched.

 

 

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