Even back in the day when tennis existed in its rudimentary form, it enjoyed great popularity among the ruling class and even the royalty. Kings Louis X of France, Charles V of France, and Henry VIII of England were particularly known as avid players. As a matter of fact, Louis X is the first tennis player in history to be known by name.
As tennis developed into a major sport that is played around the world not only recreationally, but also on a professional level, it draws in large investments and even larger crowds of spectators. So it was only a matter of time until it became one of the most popular sport among sport bettors.
To place bets in an informed and responsible way, learning the basics that are specific for tennis betting is important. These include the types of bets, tennis specific terms, as well as understanding the ranking of players and tournaments. This article compiles comprehensive tennis betting tips to provide some insight into the process.
Learning Tennis Betting Basics
Starting with the basics always provides a better foundation for understanding the process, as betting strategies vary depending on the sport.
Scoring in tennis is calculated in three stages: a game, a set, and a match. A game is played until one of the players scores four points. A set is a collection of games, and to win a set a player must win at least six games. In addition, they must win by two games, otherwise an additional game is played. A match is played to a best of either three or five sets. Championships are usually played to five sets in men’s singles.
When betting in tennis, the following essential types of bets come into play:
- Match bet: as the name suggests, the bet is placed on the outcome of the match and the winning athlete
- Set bet: the bet predicts the exact score of a set
- Handicap betting: this system applies advantage or disadvantage to individual players; the aim here is to level the playing field
- In-play or live betting: bets are placed during the match with the consideration of the current situation
- Futures or tournament bets: these bets are placed on the potential final winner of the tournament
Knowing types of tournaments is another helpful piece of information for an informed and responsible betting:
- Challenger and ITF tours: these tournaments help low-ranking players earn points and experience to enter high ranking competitions. They can also get the prize money.
- ATP finals and WTA finals: culmination of the season, these tournaments have both prize money and substantial ranking points. Participants include top eight singles players and double teams, as per annual performance.
- Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup: these tournaments are national team events, with Davis Cup being for men’s tennis and Billie Jean King Cup for women’s tennis. They include a series of matches for both singles and doubles, with the victory awarded to a national team rather than individual players.
- The Olympic Games: while the Olympic Games require no introduction or explanation, it is good to remember that the prizes here come in the form of medals rather than points or monetary awards. It also adds a level of recognition to the winners’ names.
- ATP Tour and WTA Tour events: uniting professional tours for men and women respectively, these events are divided into several categories, depending on the amount of points and exposure. These include ATP Tour 250 and WTA 250 events (opportunities for rising stars to grow in ranking), ATP Tour 500 and WTA 500 events (highly competitive but not the top amount of ranking points or prize money), and ATP Tour Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events (for the world’s top players, ranks just below the Grand Slams).
- Grand Slams: consisting of the French Open, Australian Open, US Open, and Wimbledon, the Grand Slam is the most prestigious event in the tennis world, which is reflected in the ranking points, prize money, and the amount of recognition it gives the winners. Each event includes men’s and women’s singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles.
Building Tennis Betting Strategy
Tennis betting strategies can be divided into essential, that even beginners can adopt, and advanced, that require some level of experience in the practice.
Some players perform better on certain court surfaces, and for someone who watches tennis on the regular, it is easy to identify them. Using this knowledge during betting can help make an informed decision based on the tournament. Another thing to look out for in players is how they perform in each set. Some start strong, others progress as the set unfolds. This knowledge may be especially helpful during in-game betting to follow the dynamic of the game. Fatigue can also be a significant factor for a competitor who has played several matches in a row or has had a recent injury. That’s why staying in the loop of tennis world events is equally necessary.
Hedging bets is one of the strategies more experienced bettors can employ. It implies placing bets on both players at different moments during the match. This way, some amount of winning profit is guaranteed regardless of the actual outcome.
How to Select a Bookmaker
Tennis betting tips wouldn’t be complete without mentioning bookmakers. Most reliable bookmakers offer diverse betting markets on tennis tournaments. The most important aspects to pay attention to are odds, markets, and tournaments.
While basically every bookmaker will offer you odds on tennis, they may significantly differ from one bookmaker to another. Depending on whether a bettor prefers to play traditional markets or something different, it makes sense to analyze available offers and choose the ones that offer the best odds on the bettor’s preferred markets.
Tennis Betting Tips: How To
Calculating odds is a skill any bettor in any sport needs to master. In tennis, odds calculations depend on the favourites in the matchup. Whether talking about singles or doubles, odds are determined based on the ATP and WTA rankings for men and women correspondingly.
Besides rankings and points, other aspects are also taken into consideration when determining the favourites. Players are evaluated in terms of their current physical form, their recent schedule and tournaments played, as well as historical performance at the tournament in question, the tournament surface, their opponent at the game, and other aspects.
Short-Term Betting
Match and set bets are the easiest type of short-term betting. In this case, bets are placed on the potential winner of the match or a specific set correspondingly. However, if one of the players is a very obvious favourite in many aspects, betting on them may decrease the odds, and even in case of a win, the profit won’t be high.
This is where handicap betting comes in to increase the odds. Tennis handicaps include game and set handicaps. They both work in a similar way, giving one player a game or a set advantage over the other.
Betting on over and under totals is also available both for games and sets. This bet means that the bettor tries to guess whether the match will be finished over or under a certain number of games (or sets).
Commonly, guessing the correct score of a set or the entire match has the highest odds and thus brings the highest rewards.
Long-Term Betting
As the name suggests, long-term betting aims at results outside the immediate match in question. A good example is outright betting which implies placing a bet on the winner of the tournament. Such bets have better odds before the beginning of the tournament and tend to rapidly decline as the event progresses.
Outright betting can also include banking on a certain player to reach a specific level of the tournament, like the quarterfinals, semifinals, or finals.
Live Betting
Live, or in-play betting is generally considered to be easier for more seasoned bettors, however it is not an absolute requirement. It is quite enough to be able to watch and understand the game of tennis to place bets during its course.
Live betting includes the common bets like match, set, and game outcome but also has some specific bets like predicting whether the set will go into a tiebreak, the score of the player who loses the set, total number of games in the entire match, and many more. The main thing to keep in mind is that any bet has to be placed before the start of the point.
More Tennis Betting Tips
The outcome of each tennis match largely depends on the players, that’s why it is important to study their level (rookie, rising star, seasoned player) and physical form. Thus, betting too early before the match is risky, as an unexpected injury can change a lot.
While it may seem arbitrary, players’ motivation can also come into play, especially for opponents who are equal in level and ranking. The result may depend on how important winning that particular game is for each of them.
And last but not least, style of play should also be considered during betting. While most prominent players have their own distinct styles, they might not always be comfortable with the style of their opponents. This might not be a decisive factor for a victory or loss but still good to keep in mind.