Bermuda could host two major squash tournaments in the New Year if the Island's new Australian squash coach gets his way.

Brett Martin, who arrived at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Club in Devonshire nearly two months ago, is hoping to tempt some of the world's top players to compete in a men's tournament in January and a women's tournament two months later.

Plans are at an early stage, but 35-year-old Martin is confident that by using his contacts gained during a glittering career in the sport, he can succeed -- especially if local businesses give their financial backing.

"What I'm trying to do is speak to the top players to find out what would be a good time to fit in with their schedules,'' said Martin. "The fact that I know most of them helps a lot.'' And the top player he knows best is the women's world number one, his sister Michelle. The Martin siblings played together with Rodney Eyles, a Bermuda resident, in the Australian team which won the World Cup Team Championships in Malaysia two years ago.

"All I'll need to get Michelle over here is a week of sunny weather,'' said Martin, adding that he hoped to stage a women's tournament in either March or April.

Martin grew up in Sydney, then moved to Australia's Gold Coast, where he still has a home. Shortly after suddenly quitting professional squash, he was offered several coaching jobs around the world and chose Bermuda.

"I'd played in several tournaments over here and stopped over a few times on my way from Europe to America, so it was no culture shock for me coming to Bermuda,'' he said.

Martin, who has signed a two-year contract at the club, has been impressed with the attitude of the 500 or so members.

"There are a lot of keen players and the youth programme we've set up is very promising. We're getting 60 to 80 youngsters playing here every week and hopefully some of them will keep coming back.

"In Australia, it's very difficult to make a living out of squash coaching. I think it's a difference in mentality. People there don't want to be coached.

But people here are keener to be coached and to improve their game.'' And Martin is well qualified to advise most people on how to play the game better. Having first wielded a racquet at the age of six on courts built in Sydney by his parents, Martin went on to become one of the world's top players.

In 1989 in Singapore and then again in 1991 in Finland, Martin was a member of Australian teams which won the World Open Men's Team Championships.

He has also triumphed at a string of international tournaments, including the Australian Open, the Italian Open, the Hong Kong Open and was twice winner of the Bermuda Open, in 1993 and 1989.

His decision to stop competing at the top level came suddenly at a time when Martin felt he was consistently not doing himself justice on court.

"One day I walked off after a match and thought, `that's it, I quit'. The problem was a lack of good training partners.

"At the highest level, it's very difficult to find players to practise with.

In Australia, the top players were often away.

"That meant that unless I went off to Europe where there were a few players, I ended up training by myself and going into tournaments with no match practice under my belt.

"And no matter how hard you train, without match practice, it's not good enough at the very top level.'' Martin admitted he missed the competition of the professional circuit and having a tough game now and again -- he occasionally plays against two opponents simultaneously to give himself a more demanding workout on court.

But he's looking forward to having a break from the jet-set lifestyle.

"After spending so much of my life travelling around the world, it'll be nice to stick in one place for a while,'' he said.

Anyone interested in sponsoring one of the planned tournaments should contact Brett at the squash club on 292-6881.

BRETT MARTIN -- The former Australian Open champion hopes to use his contacts to lure some of the world's top stars to compete in tournaments in Bermuda.