American men’s tennis is desperate to find a singles star ahead of the US Open, but it seems their doubles prospects in New York have taken a serious hit. The team of JJ Tracy and Robert Cash has split up, with both of them scheduled to play with different partners at the Mubadala Citi Open later this month.

With Tracy currently ranked 27 and Cash 32 in the world, their decision to split has come after the American team has struggled this season, with a 12-18 win-loss record. They have won two titles this year, the ATP 250 in Marrakech and the Challenger in Aix-en-Provence, but their results have been inconsistent throughout the year, with 12 first-round exits so far. Their last event together was at Wimbledon, where they lost in the second round.

The partnership between Cash and Tracy began in 2021, when the two teamed up for an ITF event in Columbus, where they finished as runners-up. After a few years of playing with different partners on Tour, the pair rejoined forces in 2024 after they had won the NCAA doubles title for Ohio and had been the highest-ranked all-American team on the tour. In their first Tour-level event back, Tracy and Cash reached the grass-court final at Newport, where they lost to the team of Sem Verbeek and Andre Goransson. This run gave the duo the confidence to keep their partnership for longer, as they made their main draw debut at the US Open that year, reaching the second round as wildcards.

Cash and Tracy ended 2024 strong with three Challenger titles, a form they continued in 2025, when they won four more, including a successful title defense in Newport, which was a Challenger event in 2025. However, the duo made great strides at the Tour level, winning the Los Cabos Open, beating the Australian pair of Blake Bayldon and Tristan Scoolkate. That win was the sign for things to come, as they made a big run at the US Open, reaching the semifinals with wins over seasoned pairs like Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. However, as things turned out, the pair could not carry their form on to the next year.

For the upcoming event in Washington, Tracy is set to partner with Francisco Cabral, and Cash will team up with Alex Erler. However, in an interesting turn of events, Cash himself said that one result led him to take up tennis as a profession rather than pursue his medical ambitions.

One Match Was Enough for Robert Cash to Take Up Tennis as a Professional Career

Even while Cash was playing at the 2024 NCAA doubles with Tracy, the American player had not committed to a tennis career, still taking preparations for his medical exams in hopes of becoming a doctor. In a self-penned piece on the ATP website, Cash talks about his family being an education-oriented one, with both his siblings being doctors.

However, the semifinal clash against Louisville at the NCAA doubles championship changed Cash’s mindset, as he and Tracy saved multiple match points to win the match and then went on to win the final. That comeback win in the semifinal was the first domino to fall for Cash and Tracy as they received the wildcard for Newport and the US Open and had the Challenger victories by the end of the year.

By then, the results had made Cash rethink his career choices as he made the decision to take up the sport as his full-time job, while still having the desire to pursue his medical dream after playing tennis for a few years. With the home Olympics in LA a few years away, the American fans will hope that Cash and Tracy team up for that event and deliver a medal-winning result for the nation.