She's the queen of the New Zealand women's squash scene, but mixing it with the men is a completely different story for Joelle King.

Something she relishes if it helps her push for the lofty heights of World No. 4 again.

Jack Niles, 14, Taylor Bettelheim, 13, and Ben McCurran, 11, getting coaching from New Zealand women's No. 1 Joelle King. Photos: Tracy Hardy.

This weekend the New Zealand Women's No. 1 and 2010 Commonwealth Games medallist is in town for the Pak ‘n' Save North Island Senior Championships, hoping to cause a few headaches in the men's draw along the way.

King is one of 180 athletes taking part in the tournament with 325 matches divided between 13 draws.

Ahead of the tournament, Joelle spent Friday afternoon passing on her knowledge and inspiration to the next generation of Tauranga squash players at Devoy Squash Centre.

Sharing her time between a beginner and advanced class, King helped fine tune the players' footwork and game control – something she feels is vital from a young age.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold and silver medals also prove extra motivation, showing hard work and perseverance are necessities in any sport.

Even if the thought of inspiring the next wave took some getting used to.

'I think when you are younger it's a bit weird to think you are inspiring them. But as I've got older I remember it was the Leilani Joyce's and Shelley Kitchen's that inspired me,” says Joelle.

'Just meeting them and going ‘you are exactly the same as me' that in itself inspires them to go on and want to play squash. And if I can get one kid to do that out of a group of 20 then I think I'd be winning.”

This weekend instead of sticking to the women's draw, the 26-year-old has thrown her hand in with the men in attempts to ready herself for a busy second half of the year.

Leaving on August 2 for the Australian Open in Melbourne, King will then play the national champs in Christchurch - both individual and team events - before the China Open, Macau Open, Carol Weymuller Open (United States), US Open, Qatar Classic, Hong Kong Open and the Women's World Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

In the past King would play in both the men's and women's draw, meaning up to nine matches a weekend. Until snapping her Achilles last August after reaching a career-high world ranking of World No. 4 in April 2014.

King is seeded ninth and met eighth seed Sion Wiggin in the first round last night.

She says the top four seeds, Evan Williams, Lance Beddoes, Ben Grindrod and Chris van der Salm, will probably be too strong for her, but finds it beneficial when shifting back to the women's version.

'The boys don't like playing a girl, but they definitely don't hold back. But I appreciate that because it shows they respect me and they aren't taking me lightly.

'I like it though because I don't want them to give anything.”

For tournament draws and information, see www.devoysquashandfitness.co.nz