Tennis is a popular international sport in India, played both indoors and outdoors. It is an Olympic sport loved and played by people from all walks of life and ages. Moreover, tennis betting is becoming increasingly popular in India along with cricket betting. Today, you can bet on who will win the grand slams, individual matches as well as how many games a player will accumulate in a match. For more information carry on reading our online tennis betting guide.
Top Tennis Betting Sites
If you’re looking for reputable sportsbooks to place tennis bets at, then check out the table below. Here you will find our most recommended sites that offer good welcome offers and betting odds. Additionally, you will be able to receive fast payouts and quick account verification.
What Are the Top Tennis Events to Bet On?
Four major tennis tournaments are played throughout the year. These are known as Grand Slams which carry massive prize pools. The four Grand Slams are:
- Australian Open (played on hard courts)
- French Open (played on red clay courts)
- Wimbledon (played on grass courts)
- The US Open (played on hard courts)
Women and men have their own separate leagues called the WTA and ATP, respectively. Besides, Grand Slams there are top Masters events to bet on too, such as Indian Wells and Monte Carlo. At the end of the season, the top 8 ranking players feature in a round-robin tournament called the ATP Masters.
Most Indian bookmakers will usually run special betting offers for major tournaments. Especially because players such as Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Serena Williams have huge fan bases.
Most Popular Tennis Bets
Tennis is quite a straightforward game to follow and bet on. There are basically two players (or pairs) going against each other. So, you can bet on match winners, tournament winners or match statistics.
Tennis Match Winner
As the name says, you can simply place a bet on the match-winner. It can be difficult to make money betting on a favourite because the odds will be very low. So, sometimes it is better to consider making a parlay bet, to increase your chances of making a decent return. A parlay, also known as an accumulator, is a single bet which combines two or more bets within one. In other words, it is a combo bet.
Number of Sets Tennis Betting
You can bet on the number of sets in a match and the correct scores. This is not always as easy as it looks. One player could be strong but may have an underlying handicap that we do not know about. Fatigue and injuries can also affect this bet significantly.
First Set Winner
Online bookmakers often allow you to bet on a player who will win the first, second or third sets. Set betting works the same as match betting with the difference being that instead of a match you are betting for a set. The first set is often won by the inferior players, making this an attractive proposition.
Handicap Tennis Betting
Handicap betting means you bet on the favourite. But unlike straightforward match bets, favourites carry a handicap. So, in order for your bet to land, the favourites need to overcome their handicaps. For example, if Roger Federer was expected to beat Andy Murray, and was given a games handicap of -3.5, then a bet on a 6-4 6-4 victory would still win since he won by 4 games combined. This is because the total number of games won by Federer with his handicap (12 – 3.5 = 8.5) would still be greater than the number of games won by Murray (8).
Total Games – Over and Under Bets
Players can bet on the total number of games in the match. Usually, there are three possible outcomes: over, under or the exact amount of games. But at most online bookmakers you’ll find Asian handicap betting options, which means only over or under. For example over or under 35.5 games.
Live In-Play Betting
Most bets occur before a match starts. Live tennis betting, offers bettors the chance to bet on a match while it’s in progress. These bets can be very lucrative for seasoned bettors. For example, Djokovic and Nadal are known for their die-hard mentality and will never give up on an important match. So betting on them to still win when they’re 2 sets to love down, can yield some nice profits.
Tennis Betting Strategy
Even though betting seems fairly straightforward, it isn’t. Betting on the favourites may seem like the obvious choice to novice bettors, but it will take you a long time to generate any substantial profit. Unless you are betting with high volumes of cash and are happy to get a 20% return at best. At Live Casino India, we do not advise going this way as the reward is not worth the risk.
Instead, you need to look out for pivotal matches that have strong potential to yield big odds.
Interpret Stats and Form Correctly
An informed, studying players’ form is the most important aspect when deciding to place a bet on a player. You also need to see how long he or she has been in form. A player may have gone years without a win in any particular tournament, but at some point in time they will gear up to it.
If a player has had a bad performance in a game it could be that he was not well but he normally has good odds, you could take a risk on him and expect a positive outcome. While players in bad form are generally avoided there is sometimes good value in backing a player that is not in form.
Head-to-Heads Don’t Always Matter
Head-to-head records are something that the market depends on. For example, if two players have played the week before and the favourite was 1.4 and then the favourite loses to the same player the next week. Then the result of the following week will be interesting as he is odds will now shoot up to 1.7. So, it is good to follow these stats.
Look to Capitalize on Pre-Match-Drifters
Odds on players can be significantly unreliable. There are too many factors to consider including fitness, medical timeouts in the previous round, motivation, smaller tournaments, etc. If your player doesn’t want to win then there is nothing to save you. Watch out for pre-match declarations and gossip. Like in horse racing, body language is a key factor. You can tell by looking at a horse before a race if they’re going to perform well or not, such as pricked upright ears, etc. So, in tennis, look at the posture of players in their pre-match press conferences. You can learn a lot from body language.
Study Players’ Styles in Pressure Situations
As the heading suggests, when trading in-play it is essential to note how the player reacts to situations when he is under pressure. Some players have excellent records with breakpoints converted and breakpoints saved and some that break down under pressure. A perfectly legitimate strategy is to back a player who wins a good chunk of first sets and then place a lay bet if he or she goes 1-0. Avoid those that have a reputation for being truly awful in crunch time.
Go Against The Crowd
Follow your instinct and do not go with the herd. There are times when prices are too big or short. For example, if you have a three-set match and player one has 1.7 odds and has won the first set and lost the second set, he would obviously be bigger than 1.7. He still has 50-50 chances and could be the favourite unless he has had a medical timeout. It is a common theory among tennis bettors to lay the player leading in the third set. However, you cannot follow this strategy in every match.
Game, Set Match!
Now that you are more familiar with how to do Tennis Betting, it’s time to place some bets. Visit one of our recommended bookies, claim your free bet offers and find some matches to bet on.