How To Bet On Tennis * A Beginner’s Guide

Tennis is one of the most popular sports to bet on across most countries as it is popular and played almost everywhere.

It is a very simple sport to bet on, and whilst some bet types are slightly more difficult to understand, if you have a grasp of the rules of tennis, you should be fine.

Types of Tennis Bets Explained

Match Winner

You are betting on who wins the match and qualifies for the next round in a tournament. This will be a 2-way market, either player A or player B will win.

Set Score

On top of guessing who will win, you are guessing the correct score in terms of sets as well. Most matches are played as best of 3 sets, so you can either bet on your player to win 2 – 0 or 2 – 1. However, some men’s tennis tournaments, including the 4 majors, are played best of 5 sets so you can bet on your player to win 3 – 0, 3 – 1, or 3 – 2.

Tournament Winner

The player who will win a tournament after all other players have been knocked out, can often back this bet each way, which will see you get a winning bet if your player reaches the final and loses. You will be paid a % of the odds you took, such as 1/3 of the odds if they lose the final. As there are often 32 or 64 players in a tournament at the start, you can get some nice wins betting on this market.

Over/Under Total Games

You are betting on how many games there will be in the match with this one as opposed to who will win. With a set being the first to 6 games, or 7 if the score gets to 5 – 5, there can be a lot of games played especially if the match goes to a deciding set. For example, if you bet over 22.5 games and a player wins 6 – 2, 4 – 6, 6 – 0 then your bet will be a winner as there were 24 games in total.

Next Game Winner

Often popular in running bet, you are betting on which player will win a specific game. Whereas the player that is serving will be a hot favorite to win a game, if you bet on a player to be broken and lose their service, you can get good odds at times.

Current Set Winner

Which player will win a specific set?

Other In-Play Bets

Some bookmakers will offer a larger range of in-play bets than others which could include who will win the next point, whether a set will go to a tiebreak, the correct score in a set, how many points a player will win in a specific game, and more. If you like betting in play, it is worth shopping around to see which of your favorite sites offer the biggest range of bets.

Tennis Betting Rules

Like any sporting event, tennis matches can get interrupted, sometimes temporarily like a rain shower, or others permanently such as an injury to a player forcing them to retire.

Whilst rules do vary from bookmaker to bookmaker, the most likely scenarios and the outcome with the majority of bookmakers are shown below.

Player Retiring

In the case of a player retiring and the match not being finished, most bookmakers will refund all bets that haven’t been settled. This will inevitably please some bettors more than others but is judged to be fair to all parties. It can be frustrating if you have a bet on a player to win and they are a set and a break up when their opponent retires, but as the match hasn’t finished, it is inevitable that bets won’t be paid out as a winner. It can be a blessing in disguise should you have a bet on the losing player though as you will get your money back and the chance to go again.

With markets such as over/under total games, where the number of games has already exceeded the total, markets would usually be paid out at the time. If a player retires towards the end of the match, some of these markets will have been settled by the time the match is abandoned.

Rain Delays

In most cases, should the match be resumed within 24 hours, the bets will carry over and continue when the match resumes. Some bookmakers have a longer time for example 48 hours for a match to be completed, so it is worth checking if an open bet you have is affected by the weather.

It is also worth checking to see if a match is in progress as some bookmakers will keep the odds of a match on-site in the in-play section even when there may be a rain delay. If you want to bet on a match that is taking place in real-time, checking the individual match should show if there is a delay or not going on.

The Player Pulling Out Before The Match Starts

If a player pulls out before their match begins, nearly all bookmakers will void any bets and funds will be returned to your betting account.

Futures

If you bet on the winner of a specific tournament but that player does not take part for any reason, you can expect to get a refund. If however, your player does start the tournament but then pulls out, it will be treated as a losing bet as the player did take part.

Tips & Strategy For Betting On Tennis

Look At The Form

Like any type of sports betting, the form is key. It is worth checking how each player has done in the few previous games coming into a match such as how they fared head-to-head in the past, how well they tend to do at that specific tournament and if either player is suspected of having an injury.

Another important aspect of tennis is the surface as some players fare better on grass or hard courts than others. The surface does make a big difference to the bounce and speed and is there very important when considering how well a player is likely to do.

Weather

Just as some players do better on different surfaces, some cope with windy or hot conditions better than others. If a tournament is being played outdoors then taking into account the weather is another important factor when betting.

Head to head

Some players just seem to be able to get the better of others every time they play even if they may have a lower ranking. There could be a number of reasons for this such as having a game that plays to their opponent’s strengths, sharing a coach, or having a current coach that worked with the opponent in the past. Either way, look for things such as this when deciding what player to back.

Manage your bankroll

As with any form of betting, bankroll management is key so ensure you bet within your means at all times. If you start getting worried about the money you are gambling, walk away and get help – betting should be a fun pastime that can sometimes get a nice win.