Description
Behind only football, cricket, basketball and hockey in terms of the number of estimated dedicated fans of the sport globally, tennis is one of the most popular games. As a result, betting punters are well looked after by major bookmakers.
The Biggest Tennis Events
Lots of major tennis tournaments take place around the world, but the sport itself and certainly the reputation of the players is defined by the four Grand Slam tournaments in Britain, France, Australia and the USA.
Australian Open
The first Grand Slam or ‘major’ of the year, the Australian Open takes place in Melbourne on hard courts between January and February with a prize fund of 55 million Australian dollars.
French Open
Played this time on clay, the French open between May and June is the second major and has been dominated in recent times by clay-court specialist Rafa Nadal. It carries a prize fund of €39million.
Wimbledon
The Championships, simply known as Wimbledon because of its location, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and still the one every player wants to win. Played on grass across two weeks in June and July, Wimbledon delves out £31.6million in prize money and is one of the world’s iconic sporting events.
US Open
The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open is played on hard courts at Flushing Meadows in New York with a purse of over $50million. It is hosted in August and September.
Davis Cup
As a primarily singular sport, the Davis Cup is unique within tennis as the premier international competition for men. Teams from several major countries, if they have qualified, take part each year with the USA having won most titles. In a similar format, the Fed Cup is played by international female players.
How to play
What You Can Bet On
Advance odds on all major tournaments are offered by bookmakers, with betting on the tournament outright being chief among the odds offered. Simply put, you place bets on who you think will win the competition overall.
When matches are being played various odds are offered, from match winner odds, i.e. 1/12 Novak Djokovic v Andy Murray 15/2 which are very restrictive in some cases, to set winner, most aces, correct score and many more besides.
Tennis Betting Terminology
Tennis is a very simple sport to get to grips with in terms of the basics, making it a viable betting proposition even when you’re not an expert. It still helps to keep these things in mind, however:
- Ace – a point won on the serve without the opponent even touching the ball. Some players are expert servers, and this is something you can bet on in terms of total match aces.
- Double-Fault – conversely, some players aren’t the best with serves and often double-fault. Again, this is something you can occasionally bet on in major matches.
- Serve – players have a distinct advantage in a game in which they are serving, something to keep in mind when betting live in-play.
- Set – matches are played in sets, and you can bet on each of them individually as opposed to betting on the result of the tie overall.
Tips for Betting on Tennis
Only two results are possible, one player or the other will win, so props are the way to go in tennis. You don’t want to back a player at 1/6 and then have to wait three hours for the result. That’s reductive. But betting on most aces, total games won or to win by a specific score is best, i.e. Federer to win 3-1.
Tennis Betting Offers
Advanced odds on specific players will be offered by major bookmakers in each Grand Slam, so be sure to take advantage if you fancy the chances of a player to make the most of your cash.
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You can wager on tennis tournaments now with Roger.com’s carefully selected and highly recommended online bookmakers.
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