With Wimbledon Set to Begin, Here Are Some Tips on How to Bet on Tennis
Like any other sport, tennis offers a variety of fun and easy ways to get in on the action. With Wimbledon beginning next week, now is as good a time as any to check out these options. You can bet on any individual match, or you can place a bet on who will win it all. That bet is a futures bet and a popular option at SI Sportsbook. There are also markets for proposition bets on things such as exact score, number of aces, and who will win the first game. These bets are also referred to as prop bets, and the markets will be released shortly before each match.
Betting on an individual match
When betting on an individual match, you have a couple of options: picking the moneyline or an over/under.
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Moneyline
A moneyline (ML) bet is simply a bet on who will win a match. You wager on the winner and you receive the listed payout if that player wins.
For example: if Novak Djokovic (-120) is playing Daniil Medvedev (+210) and you pick Djokovic to win, your payout will be at the rate of -120, as listed next to his name on the menu.
The minus indicates a player is the favorite, and therefore your profit will be slightly less than what you invested. If you bet $100, your total payout if Djokovic wins this match would be $183.33 ($100 investment plus your $83.33 profit). Conversely, if underdog Medvedev wins, your $100 bet would make $210 for a total of $310 payout.
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Over/Under
You can also bet on over/unders in tennis; however, unlike other sports that let you bet on the total score, you bet on how many games will be played in tennis. Remember, a player must win at least six games to capture a set (game, set, match). One has to win by at least two games, so if a set is tied at 6-6, then a tiebreaker is played Also, remember a match only goes for a max of three sets in women’s tennis and five sets in men’s tennis. So, if you think a match will be close, you may want to take the over for number of games played. If the match seems lopsided with a heavy favorite, you probably want to lean toward the under.
Keep in mind, the fewest possible games player for a completed women’s match would be 12 (6-0, 6-0) and the most, with no tiebreakers, would be 36 (7-5, 5-7, 7-5). On the men’s side, the fewest games would be 18 (6-0, 6-0, 6-0) and the most (no tiebreaks) would be 60 (7-5, 5-7, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5).
Spread
As in other sports, you can bet on the spread in tennis. Like the above over/under example, the spread is based on games. For example: if a spread for the match is set at 4.5, the favorite must win by a combined margin of five games in the match.
You can also bet on individual sets with a game spread of -1.5, much like in baseball. In either event, the favorite will always be indicated with a minus sign, and the underdog will be listed with a plus sign, and your payout will be the same as explained in the moneyline example above.
Futures Bets
You can bet on a future outcome, such as who will win Wimbledon or who will make it to the quarterfinals, semifinals or finals. These futures bets often present the best value. For example: if Jannik Sinner is +1600 to win Wimbledon today, but along the way, the favorite Djokovic (-180) gets upset, Sinner’s odds will suddenly improve, and you will not have the same chance to grab value as you will today. Futures bets are all about timing, and they have the appeal of big payouts.
Prop Bets
These bets can be a lot of fun. Will Iga Swaitek have more or less than three aces in a given match? Will Carlos Alcaraz win the first game vs. Alexander Zverev? They are simple propositions that can be either on a player or a game.
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Finally, here are a few things to bear in mind when betting on tennis:
Surface
How has the player performed on the surface used in this tournament? There is no better example of why this is important than Rafael Nadal’s dominance at the French Open, which is played on clay. At Wimbledon, which is played on grass, Nadal has won twice. He has won at the French Open a record 14 times.
For Wimbledon, the surface is grass. This favors players that have a good serve and volley game. In addition to players who have had success at past Wimbledon tournaments (Djokovic, Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios on the men’s side, Swiatek, Aryna Sabelena, Jessica Pegula for the women), look for value players that have had recent success on any grass surface.
Individual matchups matter
Just like a pitcher vs. a hitter in baseball, individual matchups matter in tennis. Play style is more important than the record. As mentioned above, since Wimbledon favors players with serve and volley acumen, players with big serves and baseline games could be at a disadvantage, despite their better seeding or records. Check into head-to-head records when available.
Check the draw and schedule
When placing futures bets, don’t forget to check the draw, which typically doesn’t come out until a few days before the start of the tournament. If one side of the bracket has a lot of future favorites while the other doesn’t, consider the value for players on the light side. Also, remember that those who come through the qualifying round will be more warmed up than those who had an automatic bid, and as the tournament progresses, make sure you are aware of who has played a lot of longer matches and could experience fatigue. Remember, it’s all about one-on-one matchups in tennis.
Wimbledon Odds at SISB
Men’s
Novak Djokovic -150
Carlos Alcaraz +333
Daniil Medvedev +1400
Jannik Sinner +1600
Alexander Zverev +2500
Holger Rune +2500
Nick Kyrgios +2500
Taylor Fritz +2500
Sebastian Korda +2800
Stefanos Tsitsipas +3300
Andy Murray +4000
Women’s
Iga Swiatek +350
Elena Rybakina +375
Aryna Sabalenka +425
Coco Gauff +1100
Ons Jabeur +1100
Caroline Garcia +1400
Karolina Muchova +1400
Petra Kvitova +1450
Jessica Pegula +1600
Jelena Ostapenko +1800
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