Tennis is not a huge spectator sport, but it is extremely popular among bookmakers worldwide. This is because the tennis schedule is set up in such a way that there are matches practically every day.
Since the ATP and WTA Tours travel across the world, matches are played at various hours of the day and night, even during the workday in the United States. Another advantage of betting on tennis is that the sport's regulatory organizations have made a wealth of statistics and data available to the public.
Tennis is regarded as one of the more forward-thinking sports in this sense. If you want to bet on tennis, read the best tennis betting news to stay up to speed on betting techniques and player information.
Tennis Wagering Options
Here are the most popular and unique things to bet on in tennis:
Moneyline
The most common way to wager on tennis is to play the money line, which is another way of betting on a player to win the match. In a singles match, the odds would be as follows:
- Serena Williams (-220)
- Angelique Kerber (+190)
Serena is the favorite in this match, while Angelique is the underdog. Favorites are always indicated by the negative sign (-) and underdogs by the plus sign (+) in the sportsbook.
If you wager $80 on Williams and she wins, you will receive a payment of $116.36 – your initial $80 plus your profits of $36.36. A successful bet on Kerber, on the other hand, would net you $232—you would receive your $80 back plus your profits of $152.
Sets
Betting on a specific set score is the same as betting on the final result in football. In tennis, you wager on the set score.
For instance, Player A wins three sets while Player B wins two. When you have a better understanding of both players' characteristics, this may be a great approach to locate value in tennis betting - especially if one player is a short-priced favorite but is renowned for slow starts in the early parts of a tournament.
However, betting on the winner of the opening set is a popular option. Once again, recognizing a sluggish starter (or fast starter) may result in favorable value odds.
Set Winner
Individual set betting can be done in a variety of ways. Most bookies let you support a player to win the first, second, or third set separately. An example of a 1st Set Winner market with odds for a match between Raf Nadal and Andreas Seppi is shown below.
1st set winner odds in tennis.
- Raf Nadal - (1.11)
- Andreas Sepp - (5.75)
- Set winner betting is similar to match-winner betting, except that instead of betting on the outcome of a whole match, you simply wager on the conclusion of a single set. In this example, we can see that Nadal is favored to win the first set of the match.
Handicap
You can also wager on various tennis match handicaps. Set handicaps and Game handicaps are the most prevalent.
Set Handicaps
- Set handicap betting involves betting on whether one player will win with the help of a set handicap. This is comparable to Asian Handicaps in football.
- For example, with a -1.5 handicap, you can wager on a player to win. On the other hand, a player may be assigned a +1.5 handicap.
- Set handicap betting involves one player being given a predetermined advantage (for example, +1.5 sets) and the other being given a predetermined disadvantage (for example, -1.5 sets).
An Example
- A sample of set handicap odds between Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova is shown below.
- Caroline Wozniacki - (+1.5) - 1.66
- Svetlana Kuznetsova - (-1.5) - 2.10
- In this case, Wozniacki is favored by +1.5 sets at odds of 1.66. If you bet on Wozniacki at +1.5 sets, your wager is a winner as long as she wins the match or does not lose by more than 1.5 sets. Consider this: regardless of the outcome of the match, as long as Wozniacki is within 1.5 sets of victory, your bet is a winner.
- If you bet on Kuznetsova at -1.5 sets and odds of 2.10, your wager is a winner if she wins by more than 1.5 sets. If she only wins by one set or loses the match, your bet is a loss.
- It is simple to determine whether or not your handicap bet is a winner. Simply add (or deduct) the handicap from the final score. You just add the 1.5 set handicaps to Wozniacki's final score line if you bet on her at +1.5 sets. If you had bet on Kuznetsova -1.5 sets, you would remove 1.5 sets from her scorecard.
Game Handicaps
Games handicaps function similarly to set handicaps, with the exception that we only consider the number of games won during a competition. You just add or deduct the handicap, as we did with set handicaps.
In this case, if you bet on Caroline at +5.5 games, you would add 5.5 games to her total number of games won. If you place a wager on Svetlana at -5.5 games, you deduct 5.5 games from her total.
Live Betting
Tennis is one of the world's most popular live betting markets. The odds might change at any time, so you must be ready to act before it's too late. You may also wager on who will win the next game. With all of the possible swings, it's an excellent sport for betting — but only for the most seasoned gamblers.
For example, if Roger Federer is behind 4-0 in the fifth set at Wimbledon, you may wager +800 on him live. Then, if he comes back to tie the match at four games apiece, you may pick his opponent at plus-money, ensuring a profit.
Conclusion
Tennis betting has a variety of complexities that bettors should be aware of, aside from the unique scoring system that isn't defined by total points earned. Travel, player fatigue, breakpoint conversion, and save percentage are examples of such factors.
You can now add to the excitement of tennis by betting on the various types of bets we’ve mentioned above, but please gamble responsibly.
