Tennis Bet Types

Intro to Tennis Betting

Tennis betting can be one of the simplest forms of sports betting, given the correct knowledge. And we have constructed this article to explain to you the various tennis bet types, how to understand the various tennis betting markets as well as build an overall knowledge of the sport of tennis. If at any point the terms or markets discussed on this page are confusing in any way, we suggest you skip back and read our online guide to tennis betting. 

The best part about tennis betting is that it may seem like there are so many tennis betting types, but once you grasp the basics it really can become quite simple. After reading this you will obtain the tools necessary not only to navigate the tennis betting markets, but also to thoroughly understand them and use this to your advantage further down the line when betting online.

Popular Tennis Competitions

Before delving into the explanations for the various tennis bet types, you first need to be aware of what competitions to bet on and where to find them. Tennis is actually a year-round sport, and both the men's and women's professional tours tend to follow the sun. This is what allows the sport to be played year-round.

Tennis is also a sport that provides high-level men's and women's competition; along with tournaments that are played for both singles and doubles play. While tennis is also highly competitive at the collegiate level, bookmakers tend to focus on the ATP (men's) and WTA (women's) professional tours for their available tennis betting markets.

• Grand Slam Events

There are 4 Grand Slam Events played during the course of the year. These are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Grand Slams are the most prestigious out of all the events, which ensures that bookmakers cover all of the tennis betting types during these events.

• Tier 1000 Events

These events are one level beneath the Grand Slam tournaments. This being said, tier 1000 events are still the second most prestigious tournaments outside of the 4 Grand Slams. These events are also played year round, and bookmakers typically offer the full range of tennis betting markets for these.

• Inter-Country Events

These are played as a team rather than as an individual, and they are still high-profile events. For men the competition is the Davis Cup, and for women it is the Fed Cup. There are numerous tennis betting types for these events, and there are occasionally unique bets too since it is team competition.

Main Tennis Bet Types

Tennis can seem overly complicated due to the unusual scoring system that is used for both men and women's tennis. But looking beyond the scoring system, this sport offers some of the most simplistic markets available with any sport.

• Outright Winner

By placing a bet on a player to be an outright winner just means that you are betting on them to win a particular tournament. These odds are often available well in advance of an event actually starting, and it is actually one of the most common tennis betting types.

• Over / under

The scoring system used in tennis provides an ideal opportunity for over / under bets to be placed. Typically, you can place an over / under bet on either the number of sets or the number of games played. For example, you could place a bet on a match to run over 2.5 sets, or for a match to be over 40.5 games. The exact numbers will vary based on the competition and the players involved.

• Spread

In terms of the main tennis bet types, this might be the most confusing. This is especially true if you are unfamiliar with the scoring system used in tennis. However, we can eliminate this confusion with a simple example. With a spread bet, you could bet on a player to win by a certain number of games or to finish within a certain number of games. For example, you could bet on Roger Federer to beat Novak Djokovic by a spread of -2.5. This means that he would need to win the match by a margin of more than 2.5 games.

• Money line

In tennis there is no possibility of a draw, so you can either bet on player 1 or player 2. The odds are also presented this way, with an odd for '1' and an odd for '2'. 

Specific Tennis Bets

Tennis betting markets are often focused on particular factors of a game such as the game score or number of sets. Better still, the wider ranges of markets are often based around these fundamental factors. 

We have identified some slightly less popular tennis bet types, but these are still extremely common.

• Set score

A tennis match consists of multiple sets, always involving a minimum of 2. And you can actually bet on the exact score of a set, such as betting on a player to win the first set by a score of 6-4. This is common, but significantly riskier than other tennis betting types.

• Match score

You can also bet on the exact match score, which is always presented as the number of sets involved. For example, you could bet on Serena Williams to beat Maria Sharapova by 2-1 in sets.

• Tiebreak in match - yes / no

If a set reaches 6-6, there will be an event known as a tiebreak. In theory, each and every set can reach 6-6 and this would result in a tiebreak. However, there is a very high chance for a match to finish without a tiebreak. 

To Conclude

Tennis betting markets provide a huge opportunity for online sports bettors, and once the basics have been grasped it really can become quite simple to follow and to comprehend. 

Make sure that you try and watch tennis a few times, as this will allow you to see the complex scoring system in action. It will also provide you with the necessary practice to see your bets in action.

As always, place small wagers to begin with and build up your understanding before choosing to pursue the more specific tennis bet types.