At its core, betting is a straightforward activity. You predict the outcome of a sporting event, and betting on tennis is no exception. There are various types of bets, some more straightforward than others, but the basic principle remains the same. Read on as we dive into these, breaking down everything you need to know about how to bet on tennis
How to bet on tennis: An introduction
Tennis is no different to any other sport when it comes to betting, big picture. If you're vaguely familiar with any sport, you'll have no trouble understanding tennis and how to bet on it because, at its core, it's the same thing. The easiest way to demonstrate that is to compare it with some other popular sports.
We'll do that by drawing parallels between tennis and football. Much like football, in tennis, we have a match which is contested between two opposing sides. As tennis is an individual sport, it's just one player against the other. Similar to how football has halves, tennis has sets. Games in tennis are similar to goals in football, which is why you can bet on the total.
In general, you have one side and the other side where you can bet on who wins the match, who wins a set, and who wins the first, second or any other set. You can bet on the total amount of games played and all sorts of different combos usually found in other sports.
Tennis odds explained
The odds are central to any betting because it's what determines what makes a bet valuable or not. It's all based on the nitty-gritty statistics, but let's just say that betting £100 to win £105 dollars isn't that appealing, especially since things can always go badly.
Winning £200 on the same bet makes it more valuable but also quite risky so there is always a balance to be struck. Tennis has notoriously bad odds in the sense that any minor favourite is paying out very little if you bet on them.
That is why you have to get creative often to squeeze out any value. Bets like handicaps, and over/under are fairly common tennis bets as they provide bigger odds compared to regular match winners. Speaking of which, read on for a breakdown of the different types of tennis bets.
Types of tennis bets
So, let's go over some of the most common bets in tennis. We have the obvious match winner, which is self-explanatory. Then we have the games which can be bet on in various ways. Every set has a minimum of six games and a maximum of 13, and it can end with any number in between.
Oftentimes, you'll find big favourites having totals of 18.5 or 19.5, which makes the under a pretty solid bet to make. It's not uncommon in tennis that big favourites win big, though it's far more common in women's tennis than in men's tennis.
You can also do handicap games, which is just a player winning the game's battle with a total difference. So, handicap 5.5 games would mean that a player should either win by at least six or more. A score like 6-3, 6-3 would win that bet, while 6-4, 6-4 wouldn't.
All sorts of set combinations are also available to be bet on, whether it be over/under or handicap sets, which is also a popular bet. All of these bets pay out more than the regular bets, which is why they are so popular.
Another popular bet is the one where you combine the first set and the match winner. You can get some decent odds on betting a player to win the opening set and then the match as well. This is just another way of squeezing any kind of value on the generally very low odds on favourites.
Online betting on tennis
Today, most tennis betting takes place online, thanks to the convenience of the digital world.
You can watch a tennis match and place your bets in real-time, a far more convenient option than having to visit a betting shop or sit through an entire match in it. Online betting has been a game-changer, making the process more comfortable and accessible than ever before.
It also allows players to find better margins and overall squeeze out more value out of the whole betting experience.
Tennis live betting
Live betting is a fascinating form of betting, particularly prevalent in tennis. It offers significant value compared to pre-match betting.
For instance, if a favourite player struggles at the start, which is not uncommon, the odds on them winning can increase significantly. This presents an opportunity for some truly valuable bets that wouldn't be available before the match.
How to bet on tennis successfully
This one is very tricky to determine because, as in all betting, there is no trial and tested way of succeeding. Generally, it comes down to being patient and picking the right bet and the right time. That's why live betting is so useful in tennis because, fairly often, the right time will be during a match as opposed to before a match.
Watching the sport is certainly a must because it allows you to understand the dynamics of the sport better. It's a very momentum-based sport and understanding that helps. Experienced watchers are able to spot momentum shifts in real-time, which gives you a chance to hit some really nice bets via live betting.
Knowing the sport also greatly helps. There are nuances to spot, such as the form and history of a player at an event, because some players do really well on certain courts. There is also the surface of a court that changes the calculations quite a bit.
Overall, it's a combination of knowing the sport and knowing the margins that determine whether a bet makes sense or not. After all, it all comes down to the risk/benefit of each bet, where the bottom line determines whether you succeed or not. Same as in any sport.
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