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Whatever sport you bet on, you will find some similarities in certain markets. However, every sport also has its own unique betting markets and tennis is no exception. Tennis is one of the most popular sports to bet on and there a huge number of markets available across a range of events every week.
As well as backing the outright winner, you can use your knowledge to wager the number of games or sets, who will serve the most aces, and the margin of victory, to name just a few popular markets.
There are a huge number of blogs and websites filled with tennis statistics and tools to calculate the value of odds so punters willing to put in a bit of effort can get really clued up on the sport. This data can be used to identify key betting opportunities. But, before you start number crunching, you should make sure that you understand the markets and how to bet on them.
Popular tennis betting markets
Here are just a few of the most popular markets that you will encounter when betting on tennis. These markets can be found on tournaments at all levels from the Challenger and ITF Tours to the ATP and WTA events.
Outright winner
Let’s start with the most obvious. In case there is any doubt, this market requires you to predict the winner of the tournament. It is no surprise that this is the most common bet type as it is the simplest and is attractive to punters of all levels. Despite that, you can still find value in this market if you know your stuff. While many novices will bet on gut feelings, shrewd punters will always do their research. This means keeping up with results, taking the surface, conditions and past records into account, as well as looking at recent form and injury data. Even with the simplest form of bet, your final decision should be based on measured calculations. For instance, on May 15, 2018, Rafa Nadal was 1/2 favourite with Betway to win the French Open. You decide that this bet represents good value when taking into consideration the player’s form, fitness and past record on clay courts.
A variation on this bet is Winner without favourite. When there is a clear favourite in an event, bookmakers will sometime offer this bet, which removes that player from the equation. You must then decide which player will finish top out of the rest of the field. This bet will pay out if your selection wins the tournament outright or finishes runner-up.
Winning quarter
Tennis tournaments are drawn into four quarters. The winner of each quarter then competes in the quarter-finals. Once the draw has been made, you can bet on which quarter the tournament winner will emerge from. To help you do this, you can analyse the draw and plot the potential paths of the top contenders.
A variation on this bet is Winning Half. With this bet, you predict whether the winner will come from the top or bottom half of the draw. Another variation is Winner of quarter, which requires you to predict the winner of a particular quarter. This player only has to reach the semi-final for the bet to pay out. These bets can produce some good opportunities for punters with in-depth knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of players in the top 100.
Name the finalists
If you are not sure who is going to win a tournament, you can bet on which two players you think will reach the final. A variation on this bet is To Reach the Final. With this bet, you must correctly predict one of the finalists.
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Handicap Betting
Handicap betting does not require a player to win the match. You must simply predict who will win the most games after the handicap is applied.For example, you back a player with a handicap of +2.5. When the match is over, that figure is added to the number of games won by that player. If that player’s total is the highest, the bet will win regardless of the match outcome.
Set betting
This wager requires you to predict the correct score of a match. In a five-set match, for example, you predict that a player will win 3-1. Any other outcome and the bet will lose.
Under/Over games
With this wager, you are betting whether the total number of games in a match (or set) will over or under a certain figure. You could bet that a three-set match will have Over 18.5 games. If there are 19 games or more, you win. If there are 18 games or less, you lose.
There are plenty more tennis markets including specials for Grand Slam tournaments. And regular bettors can get together on forums to discuss statistics and betting strategy.