GWINYAI TONGOONA was left a deflated man as he watched his side crumble to their fourth straight defeat and seal their Davis Cup tennis Africa Group relegation at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.
Playing their last match of the five-nation Africa Group III tournament, a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Namibia meant the hosts will now bow down to the less fashionable Africa Group IV after completing easily their worst Davis Cup campaign.
In their earlier matches against Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria and Namibia yesterday, Zimbabwe lost by identical 3-0 margins.
This means they anchored the five-team group, without even any single match win to show for their efforts.
Yesterday, Zimbabwe played only two matches, with rookie Ronan Mtisi going down 6-4, 6-2 to Namibia's Codie Van Schalkwyk while Ethan Sibanda lost 6-2, 6-3 to Connor Van Schalkwyk.
It only got worse for Zimbabwe as Sibanda sustained a wrist injury during his singles, forcing the hosts to forfeit their doubles match.
This means Zimbabwe failed to not only win a match, but also a set during the week-long tournament.
Courtney Lock, and brothers Mehluli and Ethan Sibanda, who were part of the hosts' four-member team, all sustained injuries at one time or another.
This sad run exposed the lack of depth within Zimbabwe's Davis Cup team, a point Tongoona was more than happy to acknowledge.
"We lost every match and it's very painful," he said. "I think it basically gives us a picture of where we are and what we need to do.
"We need to really promote our players and get them to improve so that they can compete at this level. I wouldn't say the guys did not try their best; they really did, but we were out of our depth here.
"We have got Courtney, who is mostly a doubles specialist, and Ronan is still a junior. He is not really up there yet. He showed that he can compete at that level; he just needs to be there more and get used to this level.
"The same goes for Ethan (Sibanda), while Mehluli is just coming back from an injury. You can see from his (Mehluli) matches that if he plays more, then he will be able to compete.
"If we want results at the Davis Cup, then we need to invest in the players."
Zimbabwe and Algeria were the two teams relegated yesterday and will ply their trade in the Africa Group IV.
There, the two teams are expected to join Congo, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Botswana in next year's tournament.
Burundi and Cote d'Ivoire are the two teams that have been promoted into the Africa Group III.
Gabon and Mauritius have been relegated to Africa Group V.
Despite being demoted into a group that has even weaker teams, Tongoona is worried that, in their current status, Zimbabwe might even struggle to find their way back up.
"It's going to be tough as well, playing in Group Four," he said. "I know some of the countries there and they are really tough teams.
"Botswana, for example, currently have one of the top juniors in the world and he is very good. And then, you have some of the other African countries; they have very strong players.
"We have to be ready. We have to go there with a team that can compete. The players we have are capable, but we need depth and we need to really prepare them for what awaits them.
"I think we have to find a way to get the guys ready, be they are tournaments or simply creating a training environment for them. We have to do something."