Tennis Betting Guide Explained
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Last Updated: 15/03/2020When you look at it, betting on tennis may seem a bit dull and uninteresting, however, it’s actually one of the most popular sports to bet on among punters.
Tennis comes with an ample history of legendary matches that tests one’s both mental and physical endurance and skills. It pits rivals against each other in a thrilling head-to-head where only one can come out unscathed.
What makes it more interesting is that tennis offers continuous betting throughout the year unlike in football or basketball which happen only on a seasonal time series.
The most popular markets in tennis betting are somewhat similar to other sports. It includes handicaps, over/under totals, match-betting, live and pre-match betting and tournament betting among others.
There’s really not much of a difference when it comes to betting on tennis. It all comes down to the bookie versus the bettor.
So if you want to take tennis betting on a whole new level, you definitely need to get ready. Here’s what you need to know to get started.
Live Betting vs Pre-Match Betting
There are two options in which you can bet on tennis matches: pre-match or in-play betting (also called live betting).
The main difference between the two is simple.
Pre-Match betting as the name implies means the bets are placed before the match starts. The odds during a pre-match betting don’t fluctuate too much even in cases where it’s building up to the match.
Live betting on the other hand means betting as the match is going on.
For live betting, odds tend to fluctuate wildly. This usually happens point-by-point which means great value can be found when you see a player having a hard time in a game or a set.There are several markets you can choose from when you bet on a pre-match. The easiest and most popular one is the overall winner of the match.
Apart from this, you can also bet on sets, the total number of sets, the number of games won and/or on handicaps based on the total number of successful sets or games.
Meanwhile, in live betting on top of the aforementioned markets, you can bet on the result on an individual game and/or set. So, if you think a player’s serve didn’t look so good, you can consider betting on the opponent or receiver to break the serve.
To help you further explore the process of tennis betting, here’s a list of some of the tennis betting types for both live and pre-match betting.
Match Betting
When you opt for match betting, you’re basically just betting on who will win the match.
Example: Serena Williams vs Donna Vekić in the WTA US Open, if you select and bet on Serena Williams, it simply means you betting on her to win the Match.
However, betting on popular players rarely has great value since odds are short in these instances unless you want them to come out unsuccessful.
When there’s a favourite for a match, you’ll find more value at set betting as compared to match betting. Handicap betting is also preferred if their odds change during the match.
Set Betting
Set betting is similar to ‘correct score’ betting in football. Basically, you’re trying to predict the final score of the match.
Example: Set Betting on a match between Domnic Thiem and Novak Djokovic in the ATP Australian Open simply means betting on outcomes like 3-1, 3-2, 3-0, 2-3 etc as the final result of the match
Individual sets are harder to predict but it has greater value than simply betting on the winner of the match.
Total Sets Market
Total sets market also works as an alternative to set betting. In this market, you can also bet on the total number of sets no matter who wins it.
It simply means betting on whether there will be 2 or 3 or 5 sets in a match.
For major men’s tournaments, the number of sets ranges from three to five, but for most women's tournaments and for men's non-elite tournaments, the number of sets ranges from 2 to 3.
Over / Under Sets
Over / Under Sets also involves betting on number of sets.
Example: In a match between Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka in the WTA Wimbledon Championship, you choose to bet on Ov 2.5 sets means the match has to end with more than 2 sets. Example: 2-1, 1-2 or more and never 2-0 or 0-2 or less.
Over / Under Games
This involves betting on the number of games that will played in a tennis match.
Example: In a match between Simona Halep and Karolína Plíšková, if you bet on Over 21.5 games, it means, there must be at least 22 games in the match in order for the bet to be successful.
If the match ends 2-1 (6-1, 4-6, 6-2), it means there were 6 + 1 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 2 = 25 games in the match which means the Over 21.5 bet was successful.
But if the match ends maybe 0-2 (1-6, 1,6), it means there were 1 + 6 + 1 + 6 = 14 games in the match which means the Over 21.5 bet was not successful.
Games Handicap Betting
This method is used by professionals as sometimes it involves putting faith in lesser rated player Or putting execessive faith on the higher rated player.
For instance, if Rafael Nadal was playing against Dominic Thiem in the Roland Garros and the handicap odds given were as follows:
| Rafael Nadal -5.5 at 1.72 | Dominic Thiem +5.5 at 2.02 |
Selecting Dominic Thiem Handicap +5.5 means giving Thiem 5.5 points/games ahead before the match is started. At the end of the match, 5.5 is added to the points scored by Thiem and if it is more than the total number won by Nadal, it means the bet is won, but if after adding the 5.5, Nadal's point is still bigger than Thiem's, the bet is unsuccessful.
If the match ended 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, it means total points/games scored by Nadal is 19 while Thiem scored 16. Adding 5.5 to Thiem's 16 give 21.5 which means the bet was successful. But is the score was something like 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, it means Nadals has 18 while Thiem has 3, adding 5.5 to 3 gives 8.5 which means Nadal still won.
The same thing applies to when you select Nadal Handicap -5.5, add the ponits at the end of the game, substract 5.5 from Nadal's point and that will show you if the bet was successful or not.
Tournament Betting
Tournament betting is a very popular market for those who are an avid fan of tennis. Most bets are placed on big players during Grand Slam events such as the Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, among others.
Tournament betting can be a very good place to exploit. You can analyse which players are most favourable or which players have it tough. Basically, you can find better value options when you opt to bet on tournaments.
You can have the option to place a bet on a specific player to win the tournament outright or you can do each way bets to increase your chances of winning if the player you placed your bet on loses in the final.
There are more than a thousand tennis tournaments that happen every year so you’ll never be short of action when you want to start tennis betting.
Best Platform for Tennis Betting
Whether you’re a mug punter or a professional one, your betting routine definitely involves a lot of information gathering and finding the best odds in hundreds of sportsbooks.
Looking for odds between two or more bookies just to find the best one can be a really tedious task. Not to mention, it is easy to lose a good price since odds are unpredictable and can quickly change.
Luckily, we know a place which might have what you’re looking for.
To save you from the hassle of looking far and beyond for the best platform for tennis betting, we suggest going for a sportsbooks aggregator like the VOdds trading platform.
Sportsbooks aggregators such as VOdds eliminate the tiresome task of creating multiple betting accounts by giving you access to the best odds available from a wide range of bookies through their platform.
VOdds is relatively new in the betting scene so they are a bit limited in terms of the sports and markets they offer. As of writing, they only have football, basketball and tennis.
Three sports may sound lacking but once you browse through their platform, you’ll be surprised with the odds and prices they have.
Combine that with their partnership with big-time bookies like Pinnacle Sports, SBOBET, among a few, expect a significant increase in your profit.
Conclusion
Tennis betting may seem boring for some bettors especially when you don’t have a good grasp on the entirety of its concept but once you understand how it works, it will definitely be fun and exciting. Furthermore, betting on tennis should be on the radar for those looking to make more profits.
