Julian Cashing In On His Opportunity

By John Langham, OSU Athletic Communications

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State sophomore Julian Cash first picked up a racket at six years old.

"When I was young, I played rugby and soccer, but tennis was just something to do on the weekends," Cash said. "My parents took me down to the local club that we lived pretty close to, and I really liked the coach so I started gradually playing tennis more and more from there."

His coach wasn't the only thing that got Cash hooked on the sport.

"I like the fact that it's individual," Cash said. "Obviously that's different in college, but at the start, I loved the fact that I was out there on my own and if I played bad, it was my fault, and if I played good, it was also on me."

Cash, a native of Brighton, England, found success in the sport from an early age. At 15, he won the English junior nationals and then followed it up by competing at Junior Wimbledon.

"I won the nationals," Cash said. "That was a great feeling. For me though, Junior Wimbledon was kind of better, even though I didn't win it. That was something that was pretty special for me to get to play there."

Not all of Cash's best memories of the sport happened on the court though. This past summer, he got to take part in a photoshoot with the No. 1-ranked player in the world, Novak Djokovic.

"Basically I was his body double there," Cash said. "It was great being around him and it opened my eyes to just how much players like him have to do. I was there for two days, but he was there for about five hours because he had to go do stuff for other companies as well."

Cash's ultimate goal in tennis is to one day compete professionally.

"I'm not that interested in the money side of it, but obviously it's a key factor," Cash said. "I want to be able to make enough to continue to do it as my job. That's my main goal, but if that doesn't work out I'll definitely get into coaching."

The money required to play professionally is part of what influenced Cash's decision to put his pro career on hold. After all of his early success in the sport, Cash could've taken the leap, but instead he chose to come to the United States and compete at the collegiate level.

"If I went and played pro straight away, I would've had to invest a lot of money," Cash said. "And obviously, there's no guarantee how I would do.

"For me, it seemed like a logical decision to go and play four years of good tennis instead. I'm also with seven or eight guys who can play as well, so I'm not struggling to find competition either."

Cash spent his first year of college at Mississippi State. While competing for the Bulldogs, Cash was an All-American and ranked as high as No. 6 in the country in doubles during his freshman season at MSU. But after his first year, he chose to make the switch from Starkville to Stillwater as he transferred to OSU.

"Last year was good for me to see what college is actually like," Cash said. "After that I could make a good judgment on what I really wanted in college and that's why I chose OSU. A lot of the things I wasn't happy with there, I felt like, here, they were doing different."

In his first season as a Cowboy, Cash has found continued success on the court.

Cash became the first Cowboy to compete in the main draw final for both singles and doubles at the ITA Regional Championships since three-time All-American Oleksandr Nedovyesov in 2009. He is also a part of the No. 14-ranked doubles tandem along with his partner, Arjun Kadhe.

Like most international students though, Cash has had to adjust to a completely different setting than what he grew up with. But even having crossed an ocean to play the sport that he loves, the Englishman seems to be enjoying American life just fine.

"I love American cinemas and the huge chairs they have," Cash said jokingly. "We don't get that in England.

"The whole team is also loving throwing a football. We got really into that and we're trying to nail a spiral, which is a little bit embarrassing, but it's all good fun."

Someday, Cash hopes to play tennis professionally, but for now, he's soaking up his time in Stillwater.

"Everyone is near each other here and you get to know a lot of people," Cash said. "If you go into a restaurant, someone is from your class and you know them.

"At first, I wasn't sure if I'd like being in a smaller town, but after a year and a half, I kind of like them."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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