Online Tennis Betting Guide
Introduction to Tennis Betting - Tennis is a sport that is played and watched in countries all over the world. The professional game is played almost the whole year round and commands a large following of fans. The game, at its heart, is a simple one, but it can be a fantastically exciting spectator sport. There have been some truly classic matches over the years, many of which are still talked about today.
Professional ranking tournaments are played across the world almost every week of the year, and even the minor tournaments tend to attract plenty of live spectators and many more on television. Both men’s and women’s tennis continues to entertain, despite a minority of fans claiming the hard hitting modern game is less skilful than the more elegant game of the past.
Tennis betting sites are also incredibly popular among both casual and professional sports bettors. The ease of being able to place a bet at betting websites due to the increased accessibility of online sports betting, and the relatively straightforward nature of the bets available has made tennis one of the most bet on sports today.
Where To Bet On Tennis Online
Tennis Leagues, Events, and Formats
Professional tennis is normally played in knockout tournaments. Players compete in a series of matches – usually the best of three sets, sometimes five – with the victor in the final taking the relevant trophy. Most tournaments are usually a week long, although some are played over two weeks.
The four biggest tournaments in tennis are referred to as the Grand Slams, and these are far and away the most prestigious tournaments in the game. Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open are the four tournaments which make up the Grand Slams. Each Grand Slam tournament sees both a male and female champion.
The professional tour for male tennis is the ATP Tour and consists of over fifty tournaments played annually across the globe. The female equivalent is the WTA Tour and is structured similarly.
Types of Tennis Bets and Wagers
There are actually relatively few different types of bet available for those wishing to bet on tennis. It is perhaps this simplicity that makes betting on tennis so appealing to sports bettors. The common types of bets on tennis are all listed below.
- Match Betting (Fixed Odds) - Match betting can be done on any tennis match in any tournament. It is a straightforward bet, and the most common in tennis. You simply back which of the two competitors you believe will win the match. If your selection wins, then you are paid out at the odds taken when you placed your wager. The odds will be presented in one of two formats. A fraction format - an example is 2/1, which means you would win $2.00 for every $1.00 bet, plus your stake back - or a decimal format - an example is 3.0, which means you would see a return of $3.00 for every $1.00 bet, including your stake.
- Moneyline Bet - The moneyline bet in tennis betting is just the same as a match bet, only presented in a slightly different way. A bookmaker sets a moneyline on a specific tennis match according to the chances of each player winning. For example, Player A v Player B could see Player A at -900 and Player B at +700. Player A is the clear favourite in this example. To win $1.00 on Player A you would have to bet $9.00, whereas a $1.00 bet on Player B would return winnings of $7.00
- Futures/Outright Bets - In tennis, an example of a future or outright bet in would be selecting which player you believe will win particular tournament. Before the US Open starts, you may, for example, be confident a certain player is going to win. You make that player your selection, and if they do win, you win at the odds provided when you placed your bet.
- Prop Bets/Specials - There are not a large amount of prop bets or specials usually offered by online bookmakers – although there often a few more in the Grand Slams. Examples of this type of bet might include who hits the most aces in a tournament, who has the fastest serve or how many unforced errors a player might make in a game.
Online Tennis Betting Tips and Strategy
Like the game itself, wagering at tennis betting websites is fairly straightforward. The best advice is to follow the game throughout the year and get to know the players. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of professional players can be an advantage when placing wagers. For example, tennis tournaments are played on a variety of different surfaces, such as grass or clay, and most players are stronger on some surfaces than they are on others. If a player is not particularly strong on grass, then backing him to win Wimbledon might not be a logical bet.
At any one time in tennis, there are usually a handful of players dominating the sport. This leads to some fairly unbalanced matches – particularly during the early rounds of tournaments. Although it is often tempting to back the overwhelming favourite, this should not be your only betting strategy. The odds at tennis betting sites on a top player playing in the first round of a tournament against a player ranked 200 places below him will not be great. There are undoubtedly many times when betting on the clear favourite is a terrific bet, of course, but it is also a smart idea to look for other value tennis bets on occasion.
Other factors to consider in your tennis betting strategy should be how you manage your betting bankroll and making sure that the online sports betting site you are using is established and offers reasonable prices for your bets.
Event Specific Tennis Betting
- Betting on Wimbledon
- Betting on the French Open
- Betting on the Australian Open
- Betting on the US Open
- Davis Cup
- ATP Masters Series