by Bob Stockton
@BobStockton10
In the non-stop world of tennis matches, you are treated to a near 24/7 period of contests from across the globe – and it is a huge earner for bookmakers.
It doesn’t take a genius to know just how popular tennis is. TV viewing figures, the number of participants playing in local parks and the number of members of clubs in countries spread around the world from New Zealand to the United States…they all underline the popularity of the sport.
It’s therefore little surprise that tennis is estimated to make up around one-tenth of all money bet with bookmakers, which is no mean feat when you consider that horse racing and football have long dominated those figures.
Significantly, the actual revenue figures are even greater with bookmaker profits estimated to contain 18% made from betting on tennis. From the ATP Tour and WTA Tour down to smaller regional and national events, the scope is wide for punters and that is why there are so many free bets for tennis matches, particularly with the rise of in-play betting and even on each point as they are played.
If you are thinking about starting to bet on tennis, here is a rundown on the types of markets you can expect to see provided by the vast majority of bookmakers.
Winner: The simplest form of betting on tennis. You are betting whether you think Player A or Player B will win the match.
Set Betting: If you were a football bettor, this would be the correct score market. For tennis, it is known as set betting. You are predicting the final score in a particular match. It helps you increase the odds compared to the winner market. You can choose whether a player will win 2-0 or 2-1 in regular tournaments or 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 in the Grand Slam events where matches are over five sets.
Games Handicap: This is one of the most popular forms of tennis betting, particularly where the odds are prohibitive on a player in the winner market. If the world number one is playing a rank outsider, you will get incredibly low odds. But you can increase the odds by betting in the handicap market. Here you are backing a player with a handicap start of plus or minus a certain number of games. So you might back a player with -4.5 games and if the match ends 6-3 6-3 your bet would win as the total games would be 7.5 (12 minus 4.5) – 6. If the game ended 6-4 6-4, your bet would lose.
Total Games: This is an easy one to get your head around. It is the total number of games played in a match. Bookmakers set a total before the start and you bet on whether you think it will be over a certain number of games or under that figure. You will get odds of around 10/11 (1.91) for such a bet given there is, in theory, an equal chance of either happening.
Tournament Betting: As well as individual match betting, you can also bet on tournaments too. Most tournaments, and definitely all of the majors, offer winner markets as well as the chance to back players to reach the final, win their half or quarter of the draw, or name the finalists. You will also find some tournament specials relating to how many games a player loses throughout all matches.
