The A-Z Tennis Betting Guide
Tennis is a popular sport with supporters all around the world, and tennis betting is growing in popularity. Tennis, after soccer, American football, and basketball, is the fourth most bet on sport worldwide and the second most bet on sport in Europe. If you’re new to betting on sports in general or just tennis specifically, our comprehensive tennis betting guide will help you get started.
Where is tennis played?
Let’s begin with the bare essentials of tennis by discussing the venues in which the sport is played. Tennis matches take place on a rectangular court that is split in half horizontally by a net. The deuce side (right) and the ad side (left) make up each half of the court (left). Every side of the court has a service box that originates at the net and extends to the court’s halfway point (the baseline). To serve, a player must strike the ball so that it enters the service box diagonally opposite the person being served from. In a singles match, you cannot use the alleys that run the length of the court, but you may use them in a doubles match.
Tennis scoring system
Now that you know the lay of the land, it’s time to learn the scoring system — which, fair warning, is a bit offbeat. A ‘0’ is dealt to each player at the start of the game, however, this ‘0’ isn’t the usual starting point. In tennis, the score of 0 is referred to as “love.” If the players were already at “deuce,” a point win would put you at 15, two would put you at 30, three at 40, and a fourth would win the game. The term “deuce” is used when the score is tied at 40. From there, whoever wins the following point will have the ‘advantage. The game is won by the same player if they win the following point; else, the score goes back to 2-2.
Every match is called a “set,” and it is played to a maximum of six or seven games; to claim victory, a player must win the set by a score of 2-1. A player who is ahead by 6-5 has a chance to win by 7-5. When both players in a set have won six games, the set goes into a tiebreaker, which is essentially a seventh game played to seven points if necessary to break the deadlock. The number of sets in a tennis match ranges from three to five, depending on the type of tournament.
The next section of this tennis betting guide will cover the most common tennis betting markets, including how they operate, how to play them, and how to maximize your potential winnings.
Tennis betting markets
Winner market
Most people want to bet on the winner, which is true for almost every sport, including cricket and football. Most bettors are interested in the winner market, and this holds true across the board, from cricket to football.
There are a few markets that are open on live betting at all times, and the winner of the game is one of them. This is because the winner is the most significant aspect of any match, and because betting on the winner does not require as much specialised research as some of the other markets.
But there’s more to it than that. Since there can never be a tie in a tennis match, there is always a clear victor and a clear loser. There are just two possible outcomes: either Player A or Player B will triumph. As an alternative to, for instance, football, where there is also a draw, the apparent simplicity of a two-runner market is an attractive feature.
Head-to-head history
This statistic may be the most crucial one. There are some players who have close head-to-head records. For instance, after 59 meetings, Novak Djokovic leads Rafael Nadal by a slim 30-29 margin; this matchup is as close as it gets. In other situations, though, it would be overstating things to call it a one-sided affair. Richard Gasquet, a Top 10 player for many years, has lost 17 of 19 sets to Roger Federer. Keep in mind that some players have a considerably easier time beating Player A than Player B, as such patterns tend to recur.
Court surface
A player who excels at long, drawn-out points on clay courts may find the slick grass and inconsistent bounce of Wimbledon unappealing. Consider how well each player does on the particular surface and how they have performed against each other in the past on that surface.
Player’s form
A player’s general and tournament prowess can be gauged by looking at their long-term form. How well they’ve been performing in the last few weeks or months is indicated by their recent form. Make use of both in order to get a full picture of a player’s current state.
Set Betting
This market is perhaps the second largest in the world for beting on tennis. This bet is placed on the total number of sets played.
If Nadal and Djokovic play a best-of-five match at Wimbledon, you might predict a nail-biting 3-2 victory for Djokovic. Or, perhaps you believe that Nadal’s clay-court prowess will lead to a 2-0 victory for the Spaniard in a best-of-three match at the Monte Carlo Open.
Betting on the outcome of a set is more appealing than betting on a match winner since the odds are always in your favour. The obvious reason for this is because, especially over five sets, it is much more difficult to anticipate the final set score than it is to predict which player would win the match outright.
For example, if you bet that Djokovic will beat Nadal at Wimbledon, you might only get odds of 1.6, but if you predict an exact 3-1 victory, you might get chances of 3.5.
Total games
To place a bet on the match’s total number of games, you must first determine how many games will be played. For example, if Nadal defeats Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, the match will last 20 games. Several ‘over’ and ‘under’ options on the total number of games are typically available on N8. For instance:
- In case of a total of above 19.5 games, the odds are 1.8.
- Betting odds of 2.1 for under 19.5 games
We don’t understand the logic behind the 0.5 games. There is no such thing as half a game, hence the victor will be determined by whether the total number of games played was over or under 19.5 points.
Handicaps
In sports like football, where an Asian handicap is common, a ‘false’ advantage is granted to one player over another. To put it another way, Player A is given an obvious benefit, while Player B is given a clear disadvantage (a handicap) in order to even out their betting odds. For instance:
Underdog Hugo Gaston might get a +4.5 handicap from N8 if he faces off against hot favourite Nadal. For a win or for Gaston to come within 4.5 games of Nadal’s tally, the odds of winning at 1.95 are good. This handicapping strategy can be applied to sets as well.
Live betting
If betting on tennis is fun before a match, in-play beting must be even more exciting.
It’s important to note that in addition to being offered before a game, each of these markets can also be bet on during the game itself. Rather than just keeping tabs on the score and stats, it’s much more informative to watch the game live on TV or via livestream to get a feel for how each player is performing. For instance:
If Nadal has two excellent opportunities to break his opponent but failed to do so on both occasions due to bad luck, it is likely that he will succeed on the following opportunity. Those are details that can’t always be gleaned from numerical data.
But be wary of images that load slowly! Watching a game on TV or online could cause a delay of up to 30 seconds. Two points may have been played in the time that the images you are seeing correspond to the present, making the odds on offer 30 seconds in the future.
The time lag in the images should be readily apparent. If it’s longer than, say, 5 or 6 seconds, it’s best to save your Live Betting for the time between games and sets, when the players are resting and there is no action.
What are the most popular tennis events to bet on?
- Australian Open
- ATP World Top 10
- ATP Tour Finals
- ATP Challenger Tour
- French Open
- ITF Futures Tour
- US Open
- Wimbledon
What are tennis betting odds?
Tennis betting odds show how likely it is that a certain player will win (or a certain event happening). Before a tennis match, the odds are changed based on how likely it is that certain things will happen.
For example, the odds on Player A, who is ranked number one, are 1.65. So, here’s the formula:
Probability = 1/odds×100% = 1/1.65×100 = 0.6060×100 = 60.60%
So, the bookmaker says that player A has a 60% chance of winning.
You can go for this bet if you agree with the given probability or think it’s even higher. Using the same example, here’s how much you could win if you bet Rs.50:
Profit = (stake × odds) – stake = (50×1.65) – 50 = 82- 50 = Rs.32
With odds of 1.65, you can win Rs.32 for every Rs.50 you bet.
How to read tennis betting odds?
Betting systems vary widely from one country to the next. Although they all signify the same thing conceptually, it is useful to be familiar with the many kinds. The article Betting Odds Exposed provides a comprehensive guide to this subject.
In a nutshell, there are three primary kinds of tennis odds that are used:
Ratios of 7 to 1 and 3 to 2
Decimal (2.1, 1.7) (2.1, 1.7)
“Moneyline” or “American” (+2.5, -2.5)
Why bet on tennis with N8 Sports?
We are aware that there is a wide variety of live betting options, but none of them compare to N8. Our website is completely optimised for mobile use, so you may be wherever you happen to be. If you want to bet on tennis in real time while on the go, download the N8 betting app for Android or iOS. They also offer 24/7 customer support and some of the best bonuses on tennis betting.
The greatest tennis odds and a wide variety of betting markets are readily available on both the website and the betting app, making tennis betting a breeze. Make sure you test the waters with a small plan first. There is no need to hasten anything, as even modest successes and failures will add up to a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable as time goes on. Therefore, if you’re looking for a live tennis betting service with a wide variety of markets across all sports, excellent odds, and regular promotions, look no further than N8.
