Betting on tennis is easily one of the simplest and most appealing options for Sportsbettors, especially for those who love or understand the nature and rules of tennis games. Unlike other sports such as football, hockey, rugby, baseball or even cricket where the outcome of a game is dependent on several players; tennis betting simply depends on the two opposing players (in singles events) or a pair of players going against each other (in doubles events), which translates to more mitigated risk, easier research and fewer factors to consider when handicapping tennis odds. But even with this simplicity and the fun comes with watching tennis events, you still need to spend time learning about the intricacies of tennis games and the art of tennis betting in order to become a sustained winner in tennis wagering. How to do so? Simply follow the tennis betting tips and advice we have prepared for you below.
Tennis Betting Tips and Advice
Place Bets Only When There Is Value
Irrespective of the tennis betting strategy you are using, it is extremely important that you locus your tennis bets on value betting. By tennis value bets, we are essentially referring to those wagers where potential rewards outweigh the risks. If there’s no value in the bet, you better keep away from it, as it will do you no good.
Learn to Specialize
Knowing countless of betting strategies and being vastly informed about different types of tennis bets and tournaments without being a master on one or two of the betting options is a sure way to losses in tennis betting. From hundreds of circuits and tournaments throughout the year to Grand Slams events, it is very easy to get confused and jump into wrong bets. Similarly, with a variety of tennis bet types and markets to bet on, you can easily get lost in the betting lines. To avoid all that, it is advisable to focus your bets on the markets and the tennis events that you are most familiar and comfortable with. And you can only be comfortable with a given bet by specializing and mastering everything there is to know about certain strategies, markets and events.
Select Your Bookmaker(s) Carefully
Okay, this tip is pretty basic, but still just as important as the rest of the tips here. Whoever you choose as your bookie (or bookies) should be able to carter to your needs, so you need to envision the kind of bets you want to place before picking a particular book. Alternatively, you can choose your bookmaker(s) once you have specialized on particular bets and you have a good idea about the wagers you’d like to make. Additionally, it is advisable to have more than one bookmaker in order to give yourself a variety of tennis betting options. Having more than a single bookie will also allow you compare odds and find the best lines to maximize on the value from the sportsbooks.
Determine the Value of Rankings and Seedings
In tennis, rankings are usually done on players based on their achievements over the course of the past twelve months. Getting to keep tabs on these rankings is crucial, especially in major tennis events, as it often gives you a clue of who is likely to perform better or not. Similarly, keeping an eye on seeded and unseeded players in events is just as important in giving bettors a rough idea of what to expect in an event. Needless to say, the higher ranked and seeded players generally tend to perform well in events as favorites, particularly in Grand Slam events. But then again, upsets are part and parcel of tennis events, so you shouldn’t just focus on placing your money on favorites. Factors like injuries, poor form, fatigue and playing surface can mess up even the best of players. And with that in mind, it is paramount that you do an extensive research on the players, events and related trends in order to know when it is advisable to bet or avoid a particular wager in the tennis betting lines.
Understand the Value of Serving, Returning and Playing Styles
Tennis is a game whose winner is heavily determined by a player’s ability to serve and return the tennis ball. Typically, even the best of servers and returners have their fair share of blunders that will lead to one or two dropped sets. But as a crucial note; having a huge advantage over your opponent in terms of serving or returning the ball can importantly tilt the game’s odds in your favor. As such, it is vital that you are up-to- date with the serving and returning stats of players prior to games. And fortunately for you, the official ATP website—and a few other websites as well—have the serving and returning statistics of every ATP tour player listed under “All Match Stats” so you don’t have to bother much about research on such information. For example, in today’s tennis world, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are considered as some of the top returners in the game. Meanwhile, Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet along with Federer and Murray are considered as some of the most clutch serves in the modern-day tennis.
Being well-informed about other aspects of playing styles such as having a big forehand or backhand, or even being a strong baseliner, is elemental when you are looking to handicap games, especially in regards to how these styles would relate to different playing environments and surfaces.
Understand the Value of Playing Surfaces, Indoor and Outdoor Events
Top players in the ATP can generally play on any surface, be it clay, grass or hard surface. This group includes the likes of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Murray and Djokovic. But when you dig deeper into tennis betting stats, you will find that certain players—even the best ones—prefer or tend to perform in certain surfaces than others. David Ferrer, for example, is mostly known for his solid skills on hard court and clay court events.
In close relation to surfaces, we have the important handicapping element of indoor vs. outdoor events. Typically, clay court and grass court events are played outdoors while hard court events are played indoors. And just like the surfaces, some players fare better indoors as opposed to outdoors and vice versa; something that you need to consider when betting on any game. Obviously, factors like motivation and form can override even the strongest of records on particular courts, but as a tennis betting bottom-line, it is extremely important that you always take into account the surface and environment (indoor or outdoor) on which a game is being played on and how good a player’s record is on that surface. By doing so, you will not only be covering your bases, but also give yourself a chance to discover some crucial edge that could prove to be the winning difference in the tennis betting lines.
Conclusion on Tennis Betting Tips
Aside from the tips we have discussed, you must remember to consider other general—and oft-ignored—betting tips such as keeping a record of your tennis bets, instituting a sound money management plan, and observing head-to- head matchups and past trends. The topic of tennis betting tips, as you probably know, is virtually non-exhaustive, but if you take all the pointers we have highlighted in this article, you will be well ahead of others in the bid to generate sustainable and consistent profits from tennis betting.
