Tennis Betting

Tennis has become hugely popular over the past few decades, with top stars leading the way and televised Grand Slam events taking place on three continents. Along with the increased interest in tennis has come a corresponding rise in tennis betting. It has been spurred by the ease of making wagers online and the great variety of markets now available, from ante post bets on major tournaments to in-running wagers on key points or sets within a specific match.

Professional tennis is regulated by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which includes 205 national associations as its members. They range from the powerful U.S. Tennis Association and Great Britain’s historic Lawn Tennis Association to fledgling organizations like Cameroon’s Fédération Camerounaise de Tennis or the National Tennis Federation of the Republic of Tajikistan. Much like football, tennis can claim to be a truly global sport.

The ITF season runs from the warm-ups for the Australian Open in January to the conclusion of the U.S. Open in September. It includes not only the Roland Garros French Open and The Championships at Wimbledon but also the Davis Cup pitting teams from the USA and the British Isles against each other and the Fed Cup, which is the premier women’s international team tennis event, starring members of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The men’s Association of Tennis Professionals’ annual ATP Tour Finals and the quadrennial Summer Olympics tennis events also fall under the ITF’s aegis.

What makes a sport exciting and worth wagering on is a high level competition. In this regard, tennis provides some of the best action available. Throughout the season, the ATP and WTA track the top male and female pros, respectively. Seeding at tournaments is determined by ATP/WTA rankings vis-à-vis the three types of court surfaces: clay, grass, or all-weather. But injuries and upsets are frequent, as are comebacks by retired veterans and breakthroughs by young prodigies, making success at tennis betting an art as much as a science.

Going into the finale of the 2010 season, Andy Murray of Great Britain was ranked fourth in the world, right behind Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Switzerland’s Roger Federer, and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic—an indication of just how international the sport has become. Only Spain has two players in the top ten.

The Women’s Tennis Association is just as competitive, with America’s Serena Williams holding the top spot, joined by Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, and Belgium’s Kim Clijsters. Only the USA has two women among the top ten. Not surprisingly, national pride is a big part of the game of tennis, helping to drive interest in the sport and wagering.

Among the most common tennis bets placed are ante post wagers on who will win a tournament outright, often placed months in advance of actual seeding of the brackets. These wagers are made at fixed odds, and because so many tournaments are held, including 50+ ATP tournaments and dozens of WTA events as well as the majors, there are opportunities to bet on outright winners several times a week throughout the season.

Also very popular is “match betting,” which involves picking the winner out of two players in a heads-on meeting. Set betting, handicap set betting, and final score betting are available, too, and thanks to in-running or live betting now offered by leading sportsbooks for televised majors, it is possible to take or change a position as a match is in progress.

Tennis betting opportunities can be found at almost all online sportsbooks as well as traditional betting shops. One advantage of wagering online, other than the simple convenience, is the availability of free bets for newcomers. Many web sites offer £10, £20, £50, or even more as a promotional incentive for signing up.