Tennis is a popular sport as its played worldwide by both men and women. Among the leading bookmakers, tennis betting odds are among the most liquid markets. This liquidity rate increases especially during major tennis events like; Wimbledon, Australia, and the US Open. Beginners in tennis betting only know about underdogs and favourites. However, there’s more to tennis betting. In this article, we will be discussing tennis odds extensively and the types of tennis betting available.
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What Do Tennis Betting Odds Really Mean?
Betting odds generally determine how much a bettor will win from a bet. Betting odds serve the same function in all kinds of sports betting. As long as the bettors predict correctly, he will be paid the exact amount the betting odds worth. Tennis betting odds are present in three different ways;
- Fractional
- Decimal
- Moneyline
The fractional type of odds presentation is mostly used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The decimal type of odds presentation, on the other hand, is widely used in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, while the moneyline type of odds presentation is widely used in North America. Tennis betting isn’t an exact science, so no matter how good a tennis sports bettor is, such a bettor will still suffer losses due to human error. However, the winning probability differs and this affects the betting odds of all sports. Let’s start the explanation on what tennis betting odds are with the popular question that people ask “what do tennis betting odds represent?”.
Supposing a tennis player is given odds of 2.55 to win a Gram slam match, what does this really mean? Well, just as discussed earlier, betting odds predict the probability of sports, so if a tennis player is listed at 2.55 odds to win a match, these odds represent the opinion of the bookmaker, however, that isn’t what we’re after, we want to determine the real probability of the tennis player winning the grand slam match. This probability can easily be calculated using the formula;
Implied probability = 1/decimal odds
So the implied probability of these is simply;
1\2.5 = 40%
Understanding how to calculate the implied probability of betting markets is one of the major keys to success in the tennis sport. Knowing this method of calculating betting probabilities increases your chances of winning bets for a long period of time. Another popular question most people ask is “how do tennis betting odds affect tennis bettors’ profits?” Well, it will interest you to know that profits are calculated using tennis betting odds. The formula below shows the connection between betting odds and profit;
Profit= (stake X betting odds) – stake
Let’s be pragmatic by using an example. A tennis sports bettor decided to place a wager worth £10 on a tennis player listed at 2.5odds to win the upcoming Gram slam match. If the player wins the bet, here is how his profit is calculated;
- Profit= (£10 x 2.5) — 10
- Profit= £15
- In this kind of stake, £15 is considered a nice win.
Let’s also use the 2014 Australian Open between Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka as an example. Rafael was the top seed In his country and the number 1 in the world. He got this recognition from the 2013 tennis competition where he came back from injury and won both the US and French Opens and alongside nine other different titles.
On his way to the top during the 2014 Australian Open, he defeated the famous Roger Federer who was one of his top rivals easily in the semifinals. This made him have a strong 1.20odds in the final because his opponent Stan Wawrinka wasn’t as good as Roger. At these odds, if a tennis bettor decides to stake £20, the total payout including his stake will be £24, thereby making a profit of £4. Using implied probability, Rafael Nadal had almost a 90% probability of winning the tennis match.
Despite Rafael featuring in one of the toughest tennis matches in the world against Novak Djokovic and coming out victorious, his opponent Stan Wawrinka didn’t make things easy for him in the final. Bookmakers saw Stan Wawrinka as a massive underdog and gave him high odds (5.50). The reason for Stan Wawrinka’s high Odds was basically because of his 12 consecutive losses against Spinard where he couldn’t even win just one out of all the sets played. Wawrinka has never beaten Nadal and Djokovic in the last seven years, so the statistics showed clearly that he wasn’t going to win this final.
A £20 stake on Stan at odds 5.50 will yield a total return of £11, and according to implied probability, the probability of Stan winning the match wasn’t even up to 20%. To everyone’s surprise, Stan came out victorious in the final defeating Rafael in four sets and claiming his first Gram slam ever. This is a case of statistics and odds going wrong and proof that anything can happen in sports. Statistics don’t assure wins.
Types Of Tennis Betting Available
When it comes to the various types of tennis bets available, there’s no shortage. This fact makes tennis one of the most appealing sports in the betting industry. Some types of tennis betting available include;
● Outright betting
This is a tournament type of bet. It involves the bettor picking a particular tennis player that he feels will come out victorious at the end of the competition. An Outright bet is a long-term type of bet but attracts nice odds.
● Match betting
Unlike outright betting, match betting restricts the bettor to just one match rather than the whole tournament. In the match betting, the bettor will be allowed to pick a winner out of the two tennis players in a match. This is a short-term type of bet that also attracts good odds.
● Handicap betting
Handicap betting also known as spread betting, is used to add more intricacy to a tennis match. It involves giving a player extra points before placing your bet. Handicap betting happens when you’re sure that a player will win or when the probability of a player winning is average, and you don’t want to take any chances. Handicap betting odds are always small because you add extra points.
These are the major types of tennis betting others include; over/under betting, correct odds, in-play betting, additional bet.
Conclusion
Tennis sports betting provides bettors with lots of entertainment and also gives bettors the opportunity to make extra cash easily due to the variety of betting types available. Tennis betting also gives bettors flexibility allowing them to place bets anytime on any game type. It’s important to know that tennis betting also has its own risk, so you should be careful while placing bets.
