Did you know that tennis is the 4th most popular sport in the world? After soccer with 4 billion fans, cricket with 2.5 billion, and hockey with 2 billion, tennis has a staggering 1 billion fans around the world, and that number just keeps on growing.
Of course, since it’s the 4th most popular sport to enjoy, it’s the 4th most popular sport to bet on as well. Tennis betting has been around for quite some time and, since major tournaments are happening 9 months a year, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make a profit from this fun activity.
However, you cannot expect to place a random bet and win big immediately. It rarely works that way (if at all). You need to do your due research, learn what you can about tennis betting, and come up with good strategies for success.
That’s why I’m here. I’ll make tennis betting easier to understand by explaining some common concepts that’ll help you make this hobby lucrative. Take a few minutes of your time to learn more about:
Let’s get to it.
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There’s no way you could get lucky with tennis betting without being familiar with at least the basics of tennis itself. Now, of course, you know how the game looks — you’ll have one person on each side of the court, known as singles, or you’ll have two people on either side, known as doubles.
The players will alternate between serving, and when the player wins their serve, this is known as a “hold.” When the player wins on the opponent’s serve, it’s called a “break.”
Even beginners know that, in tennis, there are sets and matches. A set has 6 games, while a match has either 3 or 5 sets. In major events, such as Grand Slam, the players will play 5 sets.
The scoring system in tennis goes as follows: 0, 15, 30, 40, game. The player has to win a game point and be 2 points ahead of the opponent in order to win. It’s slightly different if both players have 40 points, as one of them has to get 2 points in a row if they hope to win.
The player must win 6 games, and be in the lead by 2 games to win a set. Even if there’s a need for a tiebreaker, for a player to win, they need to be 2 points clear. Winning the match means winning either 2 or 3 sets, depending on the type of tournament.
Tennis betting is a gamble, and you never know whether you’ll get a profit from it or lose your money. And this is part of the fun! If the outcome were always certain, betting would quickly become dull.
Now, just because it’s all so unpredictable doesn’t mean you should simply rely on your luck and gut feeling. This will put you on a losing streak. If you want to avoid this, there are a few factors that you should consider before placing your bet.
The first factor is the court surface. The surface of the tennis court can be grass, clay, hardcourt, or carpet, that’s it. Both the player and the ball travel at different speeds over different surfaces, and this can have a major effect on the outcome of the game.
Before placing your bet, check out the player’s track record over different surfaces and use this as a glance into how they will perform.
Another major factor is the skillset of the players. Are they right-handed or left-handed? Are they baseline players, big servers, defensive players? How about the opponent? Do your research, compare the players’ stats, and make an informed decision about which bet to place.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can get to the fun stuff and learn about tennis betting itself.
Odds are one of the most important things you need to keep in mind when tennis betting. You’ll always see some seemingly random numbers when placing your bets, and it’s absolutely crucial that you know what they mean, as these numbers tell you how likely a player is to come out on top.
Depending on where in the world you’re located, you can encounter tennis betting odds presented in the following manners:
- Fractional
- Decimal
- Moneyline
Fractional odds are the most popular in the UK and Ireland, so they’re good to know if you’re visiting these countries and have a good tennis betting opportunity. They will look something like this: 3/1. So, let’s say you want to place a $10 bet on a player whose odds are 3/1.
In the case that this player wins, you will get 3 times the initial stake, which in this case would be $30, and you’ll get your own money back as well.
Decimal odds are the most popular in Europe, and they’ll look something like this: 3.0. Placing a $10 bet on a player with 3.0 odds means that you will get your stake of $10 x 3.0 if the player wins, which in this case would be $30.
Lastly, we have the Moneyline odds, which are the most popular right here in North America, and they will look something like this: 210. You’ll need to do some math to calculate your payout. You’ll first need to get a decimal by dividing the Moneyline by 100.
In this case, you’ll divide the 210 by 100 to get 2.10. Then, you’ll have to divide your stake by the decimal. If your stake was $10, you’d divide it by 2.10, and this will give you your possible payout: $4.76.
Now, let’s get to the types of bets you can place in tennis.
If you’ve ever been into sports betting, you’re more than likely familiar with Moneyline betting, as this is the most common type of bet you can encounter. It’s very straightforward and easy; all you have to do is choose the player who you think is the most likely to win, and place your bet on them. It’s as simple as that.
This is a great type of bet for a beginner, seeing how easy it is to understand and participate. If you want to win big, however, you might need to develop a strategy.
With Moneyline betting, when you place a bet on a fan favorite, you shouldn’t expect to receive a big payout. Just consider the Moneyline odds — the higher they are, the lower their payouts.
Of course, the opposite is also true, and the lower the odds of the player winning, the higher your payout if you’ve placed a bet on them. It’s a simple low risk-low reward/high risk-high reward equation.
Another type of bet that’s a favorite among novices is an outright bet. It’s also ideal if you enjoy long-term betting. Here, you’ll simply place a bet on who will be the winner of the whole tournament.
Many bookies will allow each-way outright bets, as well. With an each-way bet, you can still get a third or a quarter of the odds if your chosen player ends up as a runner-up. This is a nice choice of the bet if you want to support lower-ranked or up-and-coming players.
In the past couple of years, players such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams have been trendy choices for outright tennis betting.
To add some more excitement to your tennis betting, you can always go for total betting. With this type of betting, however, you’re not actually placing a bet on the players. It doesn’t even matter which player wins the match, what the scores are, or what the difference between the scores is.
You can bet either on the total sets or the total games.
What does this mean?
Well, let’s first take a look at the total sets. Here, your bookmaker will set the number for how many sets will be played. Then, you, as the bettor, will choose whether you think the actual number will be over or under that (hence the name “over/ under tennis betting”), and you will place your bet.
The bookie will typically give the figure such as 2.5, for example, for the total sets. If you bet over this figure, and there are 3 or more sets — you win. If there are only 2 sets — you lose. Of course, you can bet on under 2.5, and if there are only 2 sets, you’ll win the bet. You get the gist.
It’s all the same with total games. Again, you can bet over or under, and if you get it right, you win. The numbers here will simply be higher (since there are more games than there are sets), and your bookie will set the figure around 30.5, for example. The principle is still the same.
It should be noted here that tie-breakers are counted as a single game.
Spread betting in tennis is essentially the same as handicap betting, and is very popular when strong players are up against underdogs. In this situation, it’s often unappealing to bettors to place their bets since there isn’t much value here.
To level out the odds, the bookies will offer a number of sets as an advantage, and it’s up to you to decide whether a player will win with this handicap advantage.
In tennis betting, you’ll have two different kinds of spread betting:
- Game line
- Set line
Betting on the game line spread means that you’re placing a bet that a player will perform as well as it would be expected or better and that they will either cover or beat the game spread.
So, let’s say you place a bet that the player with a -6.5 games handicap will beat the player with a +6.5. Your player then goes on to win the match with 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, with the total scoreline of 18-11. This means that you have won the bet since your player has won by more than 6 games.
Here, it doesn’t matter much which player wins the match in the end. What’s important is the number of games the player wins. And, as long as your bet covers the spread, you’re good to go.
It should be noted here that if a game line spread bet ends in a tie (which is more common than you might think), your bet will end in a push. This means your bet is canceled and refunded.
Now, when it comes to set line spread betting, this is something completely unique to tennis, yet works pretty much the same as game line spread betting. Of course, with set spreads, you’re betting on the number of sets the player will win.
Typically, matches have 3 sets and have a set line of +-1.5. Here, you’ll typically bet that the stronger player will win in all sets.
You might want to go the other way here and bet on the underdog. If the underdog wins just a single set, you have a winning bet.
Now we’re talking! If you want to take your tennis betting to the next level, you might want to consider betting on the correct scores. As crazy as this seems, many bettors like to mix things up a little with this type of bet.
This bet is just what it sounds like, and you’ll be needing to open up your third eye, take a glance into the future, and bet on the actual, correct, final score of a set or match if you hope to win here.
Here, you can bet on two things:
- Match correct score
- Set correct score
Betting on the correct match score, you will try to predict the exact scoreline at the end of the match if you hope to win. The principle is the same with the set correct score since you’ll be trying to guess the exact score in a particular set.
You’ll need to do a lot of research if you hope to win these bets, but either way, they can be fun to participate in. As they say — high risk, high reward, and you might just end up winning big.
The last type of tennis betting I’ll discuss is in-play betting. This type of betting is really gaining momentum, and I thought we should do it justice and at least mention it.
While this might be a bit too advanced for tennis betting novices, as you gain experience and get a better understanding of how everything works in tennis betting, you might actually get a profit from this.
As you might imagine, this is real-time betting. As you’re watching a live match, you can place bets on the outcome of individual games or sets. Most bookies will allow you to trade on pre-match bets, and this might help you to either minimize your losses or lock in a profit.
Since tennis is such a fast-paced sport, and anything can change at any given moment, many thrill-seeking bettors love the rush and the uncertainty of in-play betting, and who knows? This just might be a thing for you, and you might want to consider at least giving it a try once.
Last but not least, I want to cover some strategies for successful betting. There are so many variables in tennis, so many things that could go right or wrong, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy that will ensure your bets win 100% of the time.
Besides, this wouldn’t even be fun, as part of the thrill is not knowing whether you’ll win or lose. That’s what gambling’s all about.
With this in mind, there are still a few things that can increase your odds and help you win your bets. Take a look.
Stick to What You Know
As I mentioned earlier, tennis has major tournaments and matches happening all around the world for the most part of the year. There are Grand Slam events, Wimbledon, ATP Challenger tours, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, and so many more events. It’s impossible to keep track of them all.
It’s in your best interest to focus on just a few matches, study them extensively, do your research, and specialize in them. This will allow you to develop your own unique strategy that’s bound to be more successful than if you spread yourself too thin.
It’s also a good idea to specialize in a certain bet type or market. Of course, you should try a few different ones, see what suits you, then go from there. Mixing it up every now and then is great fun, but if you want to turn a profit, specialization is the way to go.
More Flexibility with More Bookies
While you’ll want to stick to what you know with tennis events and types of bets, don’t limit yourself with your bookies. Relying on one bookie, or just a handful will do you no good.
The logic behind this is very simple, with more bookies, you’ll have greater flexibility. You’ll have access to more bet types, broader markets, and you’ll have a better selection of odds.
Of course, having an account with 20 different bookies is not a good choice either. Just try and find a few different bookmakers, enough to broaden your horizons.
Keep Track of Your Bets
If you want to make a profit from tennis betting, it’s a good idea to keep track of all of your bets. Write down the date, the tournament, your bookie, the type, the stake, the odds, everything. This will offer you an excellent insight into your progress as a tennis bettor. You won’t be leaving much to chance, as you can study your past behavior, figure out what you’re doing right and what is wrong, and learn whether you should improve your tennis betting strategy, and how you can do that.
Plan Your Budget
If you follow the first strategy I talked about here, this shouldn’t be a hard thing to do. However, it’s still important to mention it. Plan! Your! Budget!
With so many tennis events happening, and so many bets you can place, it’s easy to get in over your head and lose a lot of money. So, plan your tennis betting budget and stick to it. Tennis betting is supposed to be fun, and it shouldn’t affect your financial stability. A responsible bettor is a happy and successful bettor.
Tennis betting is quite a hobby to have. Not only can you make a profit from it if you’re a strategic and patient bettor, but you can also learn a great deal about this sport and enjoy it even more.
Being familiar with the most popular types of bets will help you increase your profits, so now that you know what these bets are and how they work, go ahead and place your first bet. Let me know how you progress as a tennis bettor in the comments below!
What are the odds of tennis betting?