IT was a sad sight watching Zimbabwe being whitewashed 4-0 by Morocco in a Davis Cup World Group II at Harare Sports Club last weekend.
The team, without the services of top player Benjamin Lock due to injury, failed to offer any resistance and did not win even a single set, during the two-day tournament played on Friday and Saturday.
Courtney Lock, who went into the tournament as the country's Number One player, lost his singles rubber in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 before Ethan Sibanda lost in similar manner 6-3, 6-2 to Elliot Benchetrit.
The doubles partnership of Courtney Lock and teenager Ronan Mtisi was blown away 6-1, 6-1 in barely 49 minutes and Mtisi played the final dead rubber losing in straight sets.
Looking at the numbers one can conclude that Zimbabwean tennis will end up in the doldrums if authorities don't come up with a plan to incorporate new players.
It was a peek into where Zimbabwe tennis will be without Benjamin Lock, who is turning 32 this year and is in the twilight of his career.
The country has depended heavily on one player for nearly a decade but is failing to come up with a succession plan before the Lock brothers leave the stage.
This is the same mistake that was made when Zimbabwe dined with royalty in the Davis Cup World Group in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the Black brothers Baron and Wayne as well as Kevin Ullyet were at their peak.
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Tennis Zimbabwe simply failed to prepare for life after the Black brothers and the game suffered, reaching the lowly Davis Cup Group VI.
And if the team is losing at home to the likes of Morocco, whose best player is not in the top 600 on the world rankings, it exposes the ineptitude of the authorities.
While they are one of the top teams in Africa, Morocco are by no means giants in the Davis Cup competition.
The Davis Cup non-playing captain for last weekend ties Gwinyai Tongoona sounded alarm bells to the tennis association.
"When we lost Benjie the odds were against us and it shows how important he is to this team. It also shows how important it is to develop and encourage young players to play at a higher level. As you saw Ethan competed well before he got injured, Ronan competed well and Courtney also competed well but we definitely need depth," he said.
There are players who showed potential in the Davis Cup team such as Mehluli Sibanda, Benedict Badza and Tadiwa Chinamo before but it appears they have been neglected by the association.
The association should ensure promising players participate in a number of competitions on the ITF circuits to prepare them for competition at the highest level.
In the past, the team was relegated to Africa Group III and it bounced back.
But it's clear that without Benjamin they may not be able to pull through.
Tennis Zimbabwe, which is currently out of depth, requires urgent intervention to save the situation.
