The men’s national tennis team head to their last Group A game where they face Cameroon on Friday needing nothing short of a win, if they are to have any hopes of securing immediate promotion back to the Davis Cup Africa Group III.
In the ongoing Africa Group IV competition in Rwanda, Kenya’s five-man team of Ismael Changawa, Ibrahim Kibet Yego, Kael Shalin Shah, Keean Shah and Derrick Ominde will be hoping to get the crucial win over Cameroon that will see them finish inside the top two places in the group who are assured a promotion final game on Saturday.
Kenya, who dropped down to Group IV after being beaten 2-1 by Benin in the 2022 Africa Group III relegation playoff held in Algeria, started the tournament on a wrong footing as they lost 1-2 to Ghana.
They however got the perfect response on day two played on Thursday as they hit Botswana 3-0 for their first win and first point in the competition.
Their last pool game comes against a Cameroon side who also have one point after a 3-0 victory over Botswana and a 1-2 loss against Ghana, leaving the two sides perfectly matched set up heading into the do or die clash whose winner will guarantee a shot at promotion.
Elsewhere, Nigeria and hosts Rwanda have already clinched the top two spots in Group B and await to see who they will face from Group A.
In the 2023 edition, the teams were divided into two pools having four teams each with the matches being played in a round robin format throughout three days.
The top two in each group cross over in a promotional playoff (A1 v B2, B1 v A2) which will determine the two nations that will compete in Africa Group III in 2024.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams in each group will cross over in relegation playoffs (A3 v B4, B3 v A4) where the last two nations will be relegated to Group V.
