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Tennis is a ball-game which is played by either two individuals or two pairs of individuals on a rectangular court which is divided by a 1.07 net in the middle. The object of the game is to force your opponent not to return the ball on your side of the tennis court. This is done when the opponent returns the ball outside the lines of the tennis court or into the net. Once this happens, a player or a pair earns a point.
Four points are required to win a game. The player or duo must win a game by at least two points in tennis are named uniquely. The first point is called 15 while the second is 30 and the third 40. The point after 40 wins the game for a player or the doubles team. If both players score three points each or “40-all’, it is called a deuce and the player who scores two points in a row wins the game. A set is won by winning six games and a match is won by winning three or five sets, depending on the tournament preference.
Players take turns in starting the first exchange. This is called to serve. When a player wins a game, it’s the turn of the other player to start the serve. If a player wins the game while serving, he is said to have “held” court. If he wins a game while his opponent is serving, it is called a service break.
Major Tournaments
Now when we talk about tennis betting, we must first know the major tournaments in tennis. In tennis language, these are called the Grand Slam events. There are four Grand Slam events each year and these are, in chronological order, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
This year, we’re done with the Australian Open, The next Grand Slam tournament is the 2019 French Open which begins on May 26, 2019 at Stade Roland Garros in France. The French Open is the only Grand Slam played on clay surface. Wimbledon is the only tournament played on grass while the Australian Open and U.S. Open tournament are played on hard court surfaces. Specifically, the Australian Open is played on Plexicushion while the U.S. Open is played on DecoTurf. Both are acrylic topped hard court surfaces which allows faster travel time of tennis balls.
The top professional tennis organization in the world is the ATP or Association of Tennis Professionals. The Grand Slams are the most prestigious tournaments where there are the most bets including prop bets. The next tier of tournaments are called the ATP Tour and going down to the second tier are the ATP Challenger tour and the third tier is the ITF events.
The women’s side of tennis is run by the WTA or the Women’s Tennis Association. The WTA season is composed of a total of 58 tournaments. Leading the way are four Grand Slam Tournaments and the WTA Premier Tournaments. There are also WT International Tournaments as well as the Fed Cup and the year- end championships.
Kinds of Tennis Bets
Tennis bets aren’t really as different as the other sports bets. The most common type of bet is the moneyline bet set for a certain match. Under this bet, two players are given a price by the betmaker. One is the favorite and the under the underdog. A punter is asked to pick between the two-player or teams. If the bettor’s player or team is victorious, he wins the bet.
The next type of bet is the handicap bet which works like the spread odds in basketball or the runline odds in baseball. Under this bet, the player who is the underdog is given an extra number of games or plus games. These plus games are added to his final total number of games won after the match and compared with that of his favored opponent.
While the underdog has “plus runs”, the favorite has minus number of runs. This means that a betting favorite’s total number of games won in a match is deducted by the “minus runs” and the result is compared to that of his opponent. Whoever has the most number or games after the addition and deduction wins the handicap bet.
The totals betting is betting on the combined number of games won by both sides. The oddsmaker sets a total which bettors must use to reference the over and under bets. If the match’s total number of games exceeds the total, you must have bet on the over to win. If the total falls short of the number games set by the bet maker, then the match is considered under and to win you must have made a bet on the under.
Outright tournament betting is also available. In this bet, the bet maker creates a market on who wins a certain tournament and the players are each given their respective price. The punter makes a bet on who he thinks will win the tournament. The next tennis tournament with outright betting is the 2019 French Open which we already handicapped previously. To read our 2019 French Open preview, click here.
Tips on Tennis Betting
There are several factors to consider in tennis betting. One of the most crucial is the type of surface where the tournament is being played at. There are players who play better in grass than they do in clay. There are those who are otherwise. So it’s good to know which particular surface does that player excel because he’ll most probably win a tournament there.
Another factor to consider is the type of game a player possesses. There are tennis players who are big servers and there are those who have excellent ground strokes. There are players who like to serve and volley while there are those who love to play alongside the baseline. Know the players’ tendencies and compare with their opponents. This way, you can get an idea of how the game will be played and how many games could be played in a certain match.
When you are starting, begin by betting on the Grand Slam tournaments because the top players in the world are in these tournaments hence, whoever are on the top of the oddsboard have good betting value as favorites and they have the best chance of winning the tournament/s. And since these are the top players, there’s a good chance you know them and if not, there’s a good chance you can search them on the internet to assess them before making your bets.
Now you’re ready to begin tennis betting. As we said earlier, the 2019 French Open is the next big tournament to bet on. The 2019 French Open begins on May 26, 2019. The outright market is already posted and as the tournament comes nearer, expect for prop bets and the daily match betting.
