Joelle King after her quarter-final victory over Belgium's Nele Gilis. Screenshot / Squash TV
Joelle King (Ngāti Porou) has made history contesting the PSA world championships semifinal against six-time world champion Nour El Sherbini of Egypt in Chicago on Thursday afternoon (NZ time).
King's "fantastic" world championships ended in a close-fought 3-1 loss to El Sherbini however, despite the Kiwi pulling a game back midway through the match. El Sherbini won 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-4 in 43 minutes.
King, 34, is the first New Zealand woman to reach the semifinals of the tournament in 20 years, since Carol Owens who won the title in 2003.
"I didn't know that at all," a pleasantly surprised King said, after her thrilling quarterfinal victory over Belgium's Nele Gilis yesterday.
"This has been a goal of mine for years to win a world championship - and I haven't even made it to [playing] the semifinal. So it's kind of one step done."
King has been in dazzling form at the world championships, defeating Gilis in three straight games, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 in 38 minutes to advance to the semfinal, following a clean sweep of her earlier round opponents who she didn't drop a game to either.
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El Sherbini, 27, will be a whole different challenge for the world no. 4 however.
The Egyptian this week reclaimed the no. 1 spot, ending compatriot Nouran Gohar’s 57-week reign as the top-ranked female squash player.
King - who has beaten El Sherbini before when the Egyptian was also no. 1 - knows she will have to be at her best to upset the favourite.
"Obviously, [I'm] coming up against a very tough opponent in the next round."
But the New Zealander remains positive about her chances, "From here it feels like every day becomes a new tournament," she said.
El Sherbini beat King 4-1 in a PSA tournament final in Washington DC in February 2022.
The Egyptian enjoys a 15-1 lead in her head-to-head contests with King.
Today's game is the first time King has made a PSA world championships semifinal in her 19-year career.
Joelle King plays Nour El Sherbini at 1pm (NZ time) with coverage on Squash TV and Sky Sport NZ.