The women's section of the Bermuda National Squash Championships looks like being one of the most open for years.

Three of the top five seeds for the tournament, which starts today at the Bermuda Squash Raquets Club in Devonshire, have pulled out.

National champion and top seed Denise Sommers is still recovering from minor surgery, numer two seed Leah Bishop is pregnant, and number five seed Carolyn Toogood injured a knee skiing and has had to withdraw.

It means former champions Liz Martin and Denise Kyme are now the favourites in the main ladies draw, but they could well face some stiff competition from juniors Emma Keane and Alex Marshall.

Keane in particular is seen as an exciting talent, with many in the game tipping the 12-year-old to be a star in the future.

In contrast the men's draw is once again likely to come down to a straight fight between defending champion Patrick Foster and Nick Kyme.

The pair have contested the title for two of the past three years with Foster coming out on top both times.

And their routes to the final have been made a little easier this year with the news that World Raquets Champion James Stout is unable to compete this year, while number three seed Mel Caines has had to pull out through injury.

Foster begins his championship against Tony Smapson, while Kyme will take on Donovan Furburt.