Everything You Should Know About Tennis Betting

Known for its elegance and athleticism, tennis is a sport that captivates millions of people around the globe. The history of tennis can be traced back to the 12th century when a handball game called jeu de paume was widely popular in France.

It goes without saying that the sport has gone through many changes over the centuries. Nowadays some of the most common associations include booming aces, thrilling rallies and excited audiences. Not to mention the wide range of tennis betting opportunities that have become available with the ever expanding world of online sports betting. 

In this article, we will discuss the fundamentals of the sport and explore strategies that can help you secure a monthly side income.

Rules and Gameplay in Tennis

Tennis is a game played between two players (singles) or two teams of two players each (doubles). The objective is to hit the ball over the net into the opponent’s court in such a way that the opponent cannot return it. 

Matches are typically played in best-of-three or best-of-five sets, with each set consisting of games. A game is won by the first player to reach four points with at least a two-point lead. Each game is served by the same player or team. Once the game is over the opposing player/team serves. In order to win a set, a player must win 6 games by a margin of two. . 

It’s typically considered that the player who serves has an advantage. Therefore, the term “break” is quite popular in the world of tennis. This is important not just for the regular spectator but also for tennis betting. A break is when the player receiving wins the game. In modern tennis with players relying heavily on their serve, breaks play a crucial role to win a match. 

If no break occurs or the set reaches 6:6, a tie-break game is played to decide the winner of the set. The first player to reach seven points with a two-point margin wins the tie-break and the set.

Types of Tennis Courts

The type of court surface plays a significant role in tennis as well, influencing the speed and bounce of the ball. The four main types of courts are hard courts, clay courts, grass courts, and synthetic surfaces.

• Hard courts, made of asphalt or concrete, offer a balanced game with a moderate ball bounce.
• Clay courts, predominantly found in Europe and South America, slow down the ball and produce a higher bounce, favoring baseline players and long rallies.
• Grass courts, most famously used at Wimbledon, provide a fast game with low ball bounce, favoring serve-and-volley players.
• Synthetic surfaces vary but generally mimic the characteristics of hard courts.

Governing Bodies in Tennis

The three main governing bodies in tennis are the ATP, WTA and ITF:

The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) are the governing bodies of men’s and women’s professional tennis, respectively. They organize the main international tennis tours, the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour, which consist of numerous tournaments held worldwide. 

The ITF (International Tennis Federation) oversees the Grand Slam events, the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and the Olympic tennis tournament. It also manages the ITF World Tennis Tour, which serves as a developmental circuit for upcoming players aspiring to make it to the ATP and WTA tours.

Grand Slams

The Grand Slam tournaments are the most prestigious events in tennis:

• The Australian Open is held at the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park in Melbourne. The tournament takes place in January and is the first Grand Slam in the calendar. It was founded in 1905 and is currently played on hard outdoor courts. The record title winners for this tournament are Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court.
• The French Open is held at Roland-Garros Stadium located in Bois de Boulogne, Paris. It takes place in the first half of June. The event is played on clay courts and the first competition was in 1891. “The King of Clay” Rafa Nadal has the most titles from the French Open. In the women’s section Chris Evert holds the first place.
• Wimbledon, famous for its grass courts, is the oldest tennis tournament, dating back to 1877. The venue is the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. Roger Federer holds a record number of 8 men’s single titles. Martina Navratilova is leading the all-time scoreboard in the women’s section.
• The US Open dates back to 1881 and is currently taking place in USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York. It’s played on hard courts and starts on the first Monday of August, making it the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Three players share the first place in the men’s section for most titles won: Bill Tilden, William Larned and Richard Sears. On the women’s side Molla Mallory holds the unbeaten record of 8 titles.

Although the ITF oversees the Grand Slam tournaments and the ATP and WTA award ranking points, these events are ultimately managed by the host federation. This means that some rules are applicable only in a specific Grand Slam event.

World Ranking

The world ranking in tennis is determined by a player’s performance in various tournaments, with the top players earning the most points. These rankings are updated weekly and are a critical factor in tennis betting, as they indicate a player’s consistency and overall form. Higher-ranked players are generally favorites in matches, but rankings alone are not the sole factor that determines the winner of a match. Additional data that provides key insights include recent match outcomes, injury reports and head-to-head records.

The ATP and WTA rankings are based on a player’s performance in the tournament calendar over the past 52 weeks. Depending on the number of ranking points the winner receives, the ATP and WTA tournaments are divided into 250, 500 and 1000 (also known as Masters), while a Grand Slam winner is awarded 2000 points.

At the end of each calendar year, a closing event featuring the best 8 is played. The tournament known as ATP/WTA Finals includes a group stage followed by a knockout stage. No other tennis tournament follows a similar structure and the winner can get a maximum of 1500 points for the world ranking.

Tennis Betting Markets

Tennis offers a wide array of betting markets. One of the most common ones is the moneyline. Similar to basketball betting, this is a bet where you wager on the winner of the match and there are just two possible outcomes.

Set betting involves predicting the exact score in a set. For example, 6:0, 6:2, 3:6, 7:6. Here all possible combinations are available and some of the less probable outcomes have very high odds.

Tennis betting offers several possibilities for over/under bets. The first one is the total number of games for the match. The next one is the number of games in a set. And for some games, like Grand Slam tennis, you can find an over/under bet for the total number of sets.

Handicap betting levels the playing field by giving one player a virtual head start. Most commonly, the handicap is applied on the number of sets or the overall number of games won.

Other tennis betting markets include the player to win at least one set, to have a tie break in the set, bets on the player performance, combo bets and many others.

Making a Profit from Tennis Betting

Now if in the next lines you expect to read about some super computer that’s able to predict every Grand Slam winner with a 99,5% success rate, then you are not in the right place.

Predicting the outcome of any sports event is a huge challenge. And it doesn’t come to just tennis, soccer and basketball are also complex sports where thousands of variables must be considered.

On the one hand you can still give your best predictions a go and see how much you can earn with tennis betting. In that case, you should stay updated with player news, including injuries, coaching changes, and off-court issues. Statistical data such as player performance on different surfaces, head-to-head records, and recent form play a crucial role as well.

Additionally, managing your bankroll effectively, avoiding emotional betting, placing live bets or using the cash-out option could help you enhance your profitability.

However, following all the steps above cannot guarantee making a calculated profit from tennis betting. You still need to rely on chance and put your money at risk. But what if you place the best bet that all tipsters suggest is “100% certain” and you still end up losing. Would those famous tipsters with thousands of followers give your money back?

Let’s not answer that.

Instead of putting your hard earned money at stake, you can take another route and apply an intelligent strategy that involves placing bets on all possible outcomes with multiple bookmakers. This way, you’d eliminate all the risks associated with gambling. Sounds far more reliable than mere predictions, right? Let’s take a closer look in the next paragraph.

Matched Betting in Tennis

Yes, you guessed it right! Matched Betting is the correct answer.

Bookmakers love giving special bonuses and promotions for tennis betting, especially around large tournaments like Grand Slams, Masters or ATP/WTA Finals.

The idea of the sportsbook is to provoke you to bet more. They assume that you would take the free bet and eventually lose it together with the deposited amount. That’s the whole purpose of the promo for them.

What if you choose to be smart and instead of playing their game, you bet on a player to win, but also on the same player not to win. Naturally, doing these two operations with the same bookmaker is not allowed while a promotion or bonus is active. That’s why you need to place the opposing bet with a different bookmaker or betting exchange. That guarantees a return regardless of the match result.

Tennis offers advantages for matched betting due to the head-to-head nature of the sport. With only two possible outcomes, it’s easier to find suitable odds for the lay bet compared to sports with draws.

You can see how matched betting in tennis is an effective and intelligent approach to boost earnings using bookmaker promotions.

In Summary

If Matched Betting sounds like a very complicated task that takes dozens of hours each day, don’t worry. That’s why NinjaBet is here for you. While using our tools, tutorials and guides you can turn matched betting into your new side-hustle. Just a few hours per week are necessary and you can expect to earn up to $1,000 per month.

Ready to get started? Join us and register a FREE account. You can test our service with no commitment. Earn your first $100 and start your matched betting journey. 

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