He?s a little bit more interested in finding a job these days than he is in his squash game, but former pro Nick Kyme will still have plenty to play for this week in the Fast Forward Freight National Championships.

Last February, while still ranked inside the world?s top 100 players, the Bermuda number one suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to club professional Patrick Foster in front of a packed house at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association in Devonshire.

Admittedly the 27-year-old was suffering from a back injury at the time, and Englishman Foster ? once ranked as high as 69 in the world ? is certainly no mug with racquet in his hand either.

But as a then-active professional who had been training full-time and competing overseas, Kyme was still the overwhelming favourite and the defeat undoubtedly prompted a prolonged period of introspection on his part.

But having taken the decision in November to quit professional squash after three challenging years on the world tour, the Bermuda number one now plays little more than a couple times a week and has been busy filling in job application forms and settling into the rhythm of a relatively normal life.

Kyme conceded he was nowhere near as fit or as sharp as he was when playing full-time ? but suggested the low of expectations he had now might actually help him play in a more uninhibited manner.

?Losing last year to Patrick in the final was a disappointment, leaving aside that my back wasn?t right,? he said.

?He?s a good player even now, but even still nobody expected me to lose that final and I went into it feeling under pressure to perform. Now though my life has changed and my priorities have changed. I play squash for fun rather than a job and while I?m probably not the player I was, I?m enjoying the game a lot more now.

?Patrick and I play once or twice a week and we?re at round about the same standard. So if we both get through to the final, it should be an interesting match. I?m looking forward to it.?

Also returning home from overseas specially to compete is another former pro James Stout, who now lives and coaches racquet sports in New York. Stout lived and trained in Belgium for over two years alongside Bermuda resident and world number two David Palmer and his top-ranked coach Shaun Moxham ? though it?s fair to say he did not make the sort of progress that was expected given his undoubted talent.

He has reportedly been training hard, however, for the nationals and neither Kyme nor Foster are ruling him out as a serious challenger for the title.

In the women?s game, the return of club pro and former world number 24 Denise Sommers from injury is bad news for all the other ladies.

The 37-year-old Dutch girl tore the cruciate ligaments in her knee over a year ago and had endured a painfully tedious return to full fitness.

However, her presence, combined with that of Canadian newcomer Leah Bishop, will lend added spice to the ladies competition this year after being dominated for so long by the likes of Liz Martin and the irrepressible Denise Kyme.