New Zealand's top male and female squash athletes are preparing for a huge weekend of competition at the New Zealand Squash Championships in the Bay of Plenty.

Women's world number four Joelle King and men's number five Paul Coll are returning home to headline the event, fresh off the back of the PSA World Tour Finals.

The Championships will also feature a host of rising stars and emerging pros, with 62 athletes to play around one hundred and sixty matches between Friday and Sunday at the Devoy Squash and Fitness Centre in Tauranga.

The event is doubling as the New Zealand Racketball Invitational which will be contested by eight men and eight women.

It's the first time the event has been run in conjunction with the Squash Championships, recognising the growing popularity of racketball.

Six-time national champion Coll is looking forward to a return home for some great competition.

'I love competing at the NZ Champs, it's always great fun seeing a lot of friends from the past and getting stuck into the young fellas,”

'I'm feeling good, my squash is going a lot better than at the start of the season so I can't wait to get there and get onto that court.”

Nine-time champion King says the event is always one of the highlights of her year.

'The NZ Champs is always so much fun and I'm really excited to get home and hopefully put on a show for everyone while I'm there.”

The Championships is free entry and Squash New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Dowson is encouraging the community to come down and enjoy some quality squash.

'This is a chance to see some of the best squash players in the world for free, in your own backyard,” says Dowson.

'We're expecting fantastic competition and we have a great programme running around the squash so it will be a really fun event for the whole family.”

Paul Coll in action.

Other athletes to watch include two-time national champion Megan Graham, seeded number two in the women's division. Graham is making her return to the sport after rupturing her achilles and taking time out to start a family.

Meanwhile in the men's division the Chileshe brothers Lwamba and Temwa (seeded second and third respectively) will be doing their best to cause an upset and takedown Coll.

All 12 athletes named to the New Zealand team for next month's World Junior Championships in Melbourne will also be competing.

One of the team is 17-year-old Freddie Jameson who gained selection despite having to take time out of the sport due to suffering from hemihyperplasia, a condition that means one side of his body grows faster than the other.

'I only had my last surgery in May last year so I'm pretty stoked with my recovery and still making selection for World Juniors,” says Jameson.

'On my 13^th birthday I was about to have another operation and Paul Coll sent me a video saying to stay strong and that one day we'd be playing in the NZ Championships together so it's pretty awesome to have made it.”

Athletes and officials will be welcomed with a Mihi Whakatau at 11am on Friday. Competition starts at midday on the Friday, 9am on the Saturday and 9.15am on the Sunday.

The full draw and schedule is available here and the event programme is available here. Athletes will be available for in person and remote media in between matches all weekend.

The glass court matches will be livestreamed all weekend at this link: New Zealand Squash Championships – Digital Vision Live. Please note, you will need to subscribe to the Squash NZ TV Channel if you haven't already.