Tennis is one of the most exciting sports on earth. It is truly unique in that it does has all the glamour of boxing – two rivals fight in a most athletic and physically demanding of environments. And yet, tennis is a non-contact sport.
Did you know that today’s tennis game originates in France and is derived from a game, known as “Jeu de Paume”, meaning “palm game”. This French game was played on a rectangular field with a net in the middle. Jeu de Paume was outstandingly popular in France and is thought to be the basis of modern-day tennis.
Tennis, as you might know, is a great sport for betting. It is as exciting as football and as tense as boxing. Below, sportsbettingday will discuss the basics of tennis betting, familiarise you with major tennis tournaments, as well as examine popular tennis betting strategies.
Tennis betting – the basics
In order to be a successful tennis punter, you have to “get” tennis. It is crucial to remember that players have different strengths and weaknesses, which means that they will be better in some environments. Another crucial thing to remember is that there are four tennis court surfaces – clay, hardcourt, carpet, and grass, and the speed of both player and ball varies on each of these surfaces.
Experienced players are familiar with how different tennis players play and what skill sets they have, which helps them place more accurate bets. For beginner tennis punters, it is enough to know which player is right-handed and which – left-handed.
When developing a tennis betting strategy, it is important to know different types of tennis players. In general, there are several types of tennis players – all-rounders, baseline players, defensive players, big servers, and those who play at the net.
In order to place more informed bets, you should also consider players’ head to head record; this data can be combined with hold and break percentage statistics.
Major championships to bet on
You may not know, but there are tens of different tennis events each year. However, smaller events might not be covered by all bookmakers. To beginner tennis punters, we recommend betting on major tennis events only – those are certainly covered by all bookmakers worldwide. So, the biggest tennis events are Grand Slam tournaments, which consist of the following: French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, and US Open. Bookmakers around the globe offer a great number of betting options for these events.
Tennis betting options and odds
Generally, WTA tournaments and ATP tournaments feature the most betting opportunities. WTA tournaments are for women and matches are played around the globe; ATP is the male equivalent of WTA. Having said that, let us focus on tennis betting options and odds.
Outright
The simplest type of tennis bet is the outright bet. Here, punters bet on the game winner. The Outright bet is a two-way bet, which means that there are two possible outcomes and gamblers have to guess the right one. This betting option is available for all types of sports where draw is not possible – basketball, tennis, etc.
Set winner
Apart from betting on a match winner, tennis punters can also bet on set winner.
Over/Under bets
When a game is too close to call and the risk is not worth it, a great option for tennis punters is to place over/under bets. Over/under bets represent betting on cumulative games and sets. Essentially, players can wager on the number of matches played, the number of matches within a set, as well as the number of sets.
Handicap Betting
Another widely embraced alternative to the “classics” is the handicap betting, which is especially popular among beginners. When one of the players is favoured over the other, bookmakers offer a “head start” for the underdog, which is taken into account when the final result is calculated. For example, in a Roger Federer vs Stan Wawrinka match, your bookmaker might offer a handicap of +3.5 games in favour of Wawrinka. This bet is only lost if Federer manages to win four or more games.
Exact result
In the end, it is also possible to bet on exact result. If you are looking for higher odds, you should bet on exact result. However, you should remember that there are not many possible outputs and the number of bets is incredibly limited as well.
As for tennis odds, it is pivotal to take value into account. We advise you not to blindly back your favourite player, but to place objective and informed bets, based on the perfect odds for you. Last, but not least, as with other sports, different bookmakers will offer variable tennis odds. That is why it is a good idea to check different bookmakers before deciding where to wager.
