Wimbledon Tennis Betting, Strawberries and Cream, Laver and King, Lendl and Navratilova, McEnroe and Evert, Federer and Williams, Djokovic and Swiatek.
Through the ages, the Wimbledon Championships have been won by many legends of the game, and as we head into the lawn tennis season with Queens and then Wimbledon soon after, It’s time to take a look at who might be crowned champion in SW1 on the 10th July.
The championships start on the 27th of June with the men’s final taking place on the 10th of July.
Tennis was never viewed as a betting sport until just recently (the last few years)
As players have developed and technology has advanced, the game is now seeing lots of young talent emerging from right across the world. We have had the dominance of Federer and Djokovic in the men’s game and of course the Williams Sisters in the ladies’ game.
However, over the last few years we have seen many Eastern Europeans come to the top of the pile in the ladies’ game with Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek from Poland and also many players from The Czech Republic including Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova.
As for the men’s game, then Djokovic is still top of the pile, but at 34, how much longer will he be able to stay there with tons of young talent coming through including 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz from Spain and Stefanos Tsitsipis from Greece who at 23 is already ranked number 4 in the world.
So is tennis a sport for serious punters? Read on to learn more about the different types of tennis bets, and also check out the wide range of stats we have put together for you.
Men’s Singles Championship Contenders
Here we’ll take a look at the top 4 contenders for the Championship title for 2022 and look at some of the key form stats for each player.
Danil Medvedev is ranked No 2 in the world but is banned from competing due to the conflict in Uraine.
Novak Djokovic – 5/6
Age: 34
Career Titles: 87
Djokovic made his comeback to competitive tennis in May when he won The Italian Open when beating the young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) It was plain sailing in the first set but his rival put up a stern challenge in the second set and will be a threat come June in London
Danil Medvedev – BANNED FROM PARTICIPATING
Age: 26
Career Titles: 13
He reached the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in April but made an early exit from the Geneva Open the following month. The French Open was taking place as we write this column and it will be interesting to see if this multiple title winner can bounce back to form before taking in Wimbledon in June and July.
Alexander Zverev – 10/1
Age: 25
Career Titles: 19
Has been playing well for the last year and he also took part in the Italian Open in May but could not get past Tsitsipas at the semi-final stage of that tournament. He had previously beaten the young Greek star at the Madrid Open in the semi-finals before losing to home-based hero Alcaraz in the final.
Rafal Nadal – 8/1
Age: 35
Career Titles: 92
Nadal has been at the top of the men’s game for the last fifteen years winning more than $128 million in prize money in that time. He has continued to defy the hands of father time and now aged 35 he still had the class to win this year’s Australian Open (Djokovic not allowed to play)
He also won in Mexico before being beaten in the final at Indian Wells in the BNP Paribas Open. And his recent victory at The French Open show he is still a force to be reckoned with.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – 10/1
Age: 23
Career Titles: 8
He lost to Djokovic in Italy and was beaten in the semi-finals in Spain by Zverev. However, he won the Monte Carlo Masters in April and is a player who is gradually getting more comfortable and belongs at the top table of the men’s game. Like many of his rivals, he’ll be competing in The French Open so it is worth keeping an eye on that tournament for pointers to Wimbledon.
How To Bet On Tennis
As tennis has become more popular as a viewing sport, then so has betting on tennis as well. With so many tournaments taking place around the world every week, the opportunities for bettors are huge with lots of matches and lots of different betting markets to choose from.
As you can see below, the site bet365.com offer betting on tennis in tournaments right across the world
Let’s take a look at some of these in more detail. As we get closer to the Wimbledon tennis championships, all of the main bookmakers will have these types of offers.
Tennis – Outright Match Betting
Below we have taken an example of a match at the recent ATP Tour event in Lyon and below you’ll see a match between Cameron Norrie and Alex Molcan
As you can see from the above screenshot, Norrie is a short-priced odds on favourite, so is there a way of backing Norrie at a bigger price? This is where bet365 bet boosts come in handy for the tennis punter.
Bet Boosts
So as you can see from the above match betting, Cameron Norrie is an 8/13 favourite to win the match but with Bet Boosts you can potentially get bigger odds if you include other match options as in the screenshot below.
So in the above option, you can still back Cameron Norrie to win the match but you are also betting that each of the two players will serve at least 3 aces each. In that scenario then Norrie is now 5/1 to win the match.
TENNIS BETTING MARKETS
Let’s take a look at some other types of bets you can place on tennis. In this example, we are using the site at Betfred to show you a range of tennis bets you can place.
So as you can see above, to get to the tennis betting section at Betfred just go to their main page and then select All Sports from the menu on the left and then click the blue Tennis icon at the top that we have highlighted in green.
Once you have reached that point, you’ll reach a page like the one below.
As you can see from the above screenshot, you’ll see a scrolling ribbon at the top with all of the special offers they have on tennis. However, in this section we want to cover specific types of tennis bets so if we click on the “More” link, this will open up an area where we can choose the tournament we want to bet on.
We are just showing this example using the Betfred site but some of the other big tennis betting sites like bet365, Betfair, William Hill, and others will offer similar types of bets.
After clicking the “More” link you’ll land on a page like the one below.
So if we were to click on the French Open link above, it will open up all of the betting options on that tournament. Once the betting for Wimbledon is available you will see a link here and on the other bookmaker sites with their offers for that tournament.
So above you will see the main markets for the event, but we want to learn more about the other markets available for each match, so if we select “Men’s 1st Round” this will open up all of the matches happening in that round of our selected tournament.
So if we click on “MORE BETS” this is where we’ll see all of the unique tennis betting markets you can bet on and we have picked out a selection of the top tennis betting markets.
Top Tennis Betting Markets
As we mentioned earlier on the page, tennis betting has become more popular over the last few years, this is because the bookmakers have realised they can offer so many different markets, which of course, increases their potential profits.
However, what the bookmakers did not realise was that tennis has lots of experts, and you too can become an expert in tennis betting by undertaking research and using data and stats. So let’s look at just a sample of the different markets available.
Tennis Over/Under Betting
So in the example above, we are looking at the total amount of games in the match. Now, this is on a men’s match (5 sets) so we have to calculate or judge how many games there will be. Taking into account that an average set is 10 games (6-4) and a match might be won by 3 sets to 1 then that would be 40 games so the Over 31.5 here seems like good value.
However, you need to take into account who is playing and is it likely that the favorite for the match might win 3-0. This is a great potential bet if you study the different players.
Tennis Set Betting
So the next type of bet we are looking at is set betting. In this type of bet, you will need to select the player that will win and forecast the set score. So in this match, the young Greek tennis star Stefano Tsitsipas is a strong favourite for the match and here you can see he is 4/6 to win by a scoreline of 3-0.
So it may pay to look at our previous bet on games where Under 31.5 for the same match was 5/6
Tennis Total Games Odd/Even
This is a simple bet to understand. Here you are choosing if the total number of games will be odd or even.
As an example, if the match was won by the favourite in straight sets then the score could be 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 so that means a total of 28 games so of course, it is an even number. On the other hand, you might see a match go to five sets and the score may be 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 so that means a total of 53 games so of course an odd number.
A very simple bet and similar to betting red or black on a roulette table.
Tennis Set Handicap Betting
Now, this type of bet is more about skill than chance. Here we are looking at betting on a single set in the match and the player has a handicap of 1.5.
So the favourite Tsitsipas has a minus of 1.5 sets and the outsider Musetti has a plus of 1.5. You can choose to back either player.
So let’s say we want to back Tsitsipas at minus 1.5 and he wins the match 3-0. This means we deduct his 1.5 from the 3 sets he has won which means he has won the match by 1.5 sets and we have a winner at 1/5. This would be the same if he won the match 3-1. We minus off 1.5 which means the score is 1.5 – 1 so he is still the winner.
Now let’s say we back Musetti at +1.5. If he wins the match then we win, but we can also win even if he loses the match. If he loses 3-2 then we add the handicap of 1.5 to his set score and then the match is 3 – 3.5 so we have a winner.
Tennis Game Handicap Betting
Now in this type of bet, we are looking at betting on the total games in the match and the player has a handicap of 7.5
So the favourite Tsitsipas has a minus of 7.5 games and the outsider Musetti has a plus of 7.5 games. You can choose to back either player.
So let’s say we want to back Tsitsipas at minus 7.5 and he wins the match 3-0 and the set score is 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. This means there has been a total of 27 games in the match and the game score is 18 – 9 to Tsitsipas.
We minus off 7.5 games from the favourites score which leaves a score of 10.5 – 9 so backing the favourite would mean your bet is a winner.
Now let’s say we back Musetti at +7.5. If he wins the match then we win, but we can also win even if he loses the match 3-0 and the set score is 5-7, 4-6, 3-6. This means there has been a total of 31 games and the score in games is 12 – 19. Although Musetti has lost the match 3-0 and has won seven fewer games than Tsitsipas we still have a winner.
If we add our +7.5 handicap to the 12 games he won, the game score then comes out at 19.5 – 19.
This bet can be very profitable, and looking at past matches between the two opponents is a great way to find value bets on tennis.
Tennis Set Betting
One of the advantages of betting on tennis matches is that there are many different bets you can place. Because the game is fluid and something is always happening, then you can place bets on many different outcomes. Bookmakers now offer something called “fast markets” and we’ll cover those a bit further down the page.
Set betting gives you the chance to back a player to win a specific set. As you can see above, Musetti is 100/30 to win the first and second set, however, if he were to win that first set then his odds to win the second set may well drop as he would have that edge from a psychological perspective.
However, if he were to lose that first set then his odds to win the second set would be bigger than 100/30.
Set betting in tennis gives you the opportunity to bet based on actual events up to five times during a match.
Tennis Total Sets Betting
This is an interesting market as it gives you the option to make one of three choices. Of course, in a men’s match, you will have a maximum of five sets and of course a minimum of three.
Now you might think in this example that Tsitsipas is a strong favourite and will win 3-0 so you will get a much better price 8/15 than the price of 1/14 that he was priced up to win this specific match.
However, you could maybe look at “dutching” two results. Dutching means spreading your stake over a number of selections to win the same amount of profit no matter which one of your bets is successful.
As an example, let’s say we want to back 4 sets and 5 sets and our combined stake is £10.
So if we staked £6.57 at 12/5 and the other £3.43 at 11/2 then we get the same return whatever the result.
Our return on either bet is £22.32 so a profit of £12.32 on any result. All we need to win this bet is for Musetti to win at least one set.
Tennis Fast Markets – What Are They And How Do They Work?
We have covered the main types of markets available for tennis betting and we mentioned the term “fast markets” earlier on this page.
We are sure many experienced tennis bettors will know what these are but we wanted to cover them and explain what they are and how they work.
NEXT POINT WINNER
The most common “fast market” is the next point. So of course the player who is serving will always be favourite to score the next point. A point happens roughly every 30-60 seconds in tennis, sometimes even quicker so a punter could be betting every 30 seconds for a couple of minutes.
As you can see above we have a 4/11 favourite who is the server and the receiver is priced at 2/1
NEXT GAME TO DEUCE
So this is another fast market bet that runs over a single game and you are betting Yes or No as to whether the non-serving player will win the game.
As you would expect, NO is a strong favourite here at 1/6 as it is often unlikely that a game is won to deuce (0)
SERVER TO WIN TO 0 OR 15
This fast market bet is similar to the above “Next Game To Deuce” market but factors in the receiver at least gaining a point.
The server in this example was not the most fancied of the two players so for this particular game you could back the server to win to 0 or 15 at 9/4.
This is what is unique about these fast market bets as you have to take a number of factors into consideration
MATCH RACE TO X GAMES
So in this fast market, you will see bookmakers having a race to a certain number of games. That might be 3, 4, 6, 9 or in the example below it was 10 games. This market is normally available multiple times during a set.
At the time we took this screenshot this match was in the first set and it was 4-4 with Anisimova set to serve which is why she was the favourite in this market
Women’s Singles Championship Contenders
Here we’ll take a look at the top 5 contenders for the Championship title for 2022 and look at some of the key form stats for each player.
Iga Swiatek
Age: 21
Career Titles: 8
The young Polish sensation has now reached the pinnacle of the women’s game and as of the time of writing, she stood at the top of the world rankings.
2022 has been a huge breakthrough year for Swiatek as she has won 5 singles titles including Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Germany and the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March. She looks unstoppable in her present form but it will be interesting how she handles the different atmosphere of Wimbledon.
Barbora Krejcikova
Age: 26
Career Titles: 3
Krejcikova was a winner in the doubles event at the Australian Open in January and also reached the quarter-finals of the singles event where she lost to Madison Keys, the up and coming young American star.
Krejcikova had to retire injured in Qatar in February and her first tournament back will be the French Open in May. She will surely need that for sharpening up her game but she will be a force to be reckoned with at the Wimbledon Championships in June & July.
Paula Badosa
Age: 26
Career Titles: 1
The Spaniard who is 24 and resides in New York is now third in the world rankings and she beat Krejcikove in the Sydney Tennis Classic in January winning a tight match on a tiebreak. Her form since Sydney seems to have taken a drop and she will need to be at her very best if she is to proceed to at least the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Maria Sakkari
Age: 26
Career Titles: 1
It seems that Greece is now producing even more top talent, and along with her male compatriot Stefano Tsitsipis, Sakkari is currently ranked in the Top 5 in the world.
She came close to securing her second career title in the BNP Paribas Open back at Indian Wells back in march when beaten by World No 1 Iga Swiatek. If she can put together a run like that at Wimbledon then she would have a sound chance of reaching the latter stages at this year’s Wimbledon Championships
Anett Kontaveit
Age: 26
Career Titles: 6
The 26-year-old Estonian has now won six tournaments in her career with the last of those coming in the St Petersburg Ladies Open in February. She followed that with another strong performance in Qatar, but she was beaten by World No 1 Iga Swiatek 2-6, 0-6 in the final
Her form since that crushing loss has taken a dip and she’ll need to bounce back and show some grit at the French Open in May/June and then at Wimbledon in June/July
Ten Unique Facts About The Wimbledon Championships
- Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and has been held at the famous All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877.
- All Ball Boys and Ball Girls (otherwise known as BBG’s) are drawn from schools in various London boroughs including Merton, Sutton, Kingston, and Wandsworth.
- The youngest singles champions at Wimbledon were Boris Becker in the men’s tournament in 1985 aged just 17 years and 7 months. And we have to go back to 1887 for the ladies youngest winner who was Lottie Dod at 15 years and 9 months.
- The oldest singles champions at Wimbledon were Arthur Gore in 1909 when aged 41 years and 6 months, while the oldest winner of the ladies tournament was Charlotte Cooper in 1908 when aged 37 years and 9 months.
- The longest match ever played at Wimbledon took place in 2010 when John Isner played Nicolas Mahut. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes and the deciding set was eventually won 70-68 by Isner.
- Many of you will have heard of Martina Navratilova who played the most amount of matches (326) in the ladies event. But many will not know about Jean Borotra (223) who played at Wimbledon between 1922-1939. At which point he went to war and was imprisoned, before once again playing in the championships between1948-1964. An astonishing achievement.
- Bjorn Borg played 55 matches at Wimbledon, winning 51 and losing only 4.
- There has never been an unseeded player win the ladies’ event and only two men (Boris Becker 1985 and Goran Ivanisevic 2001) have won the tournament as unseeded players.
- The most singles titles held is 8 by Roger Federer in the men’s tournament and 9 by Martina Navratilova in the ladies tournament.
- In 2017, fans consumed 34,000 kg of British grown strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream.
CONCLUSION
This year the Wimbledon Championships will be taking place at the height of the Queens Platinum Jubilee and we are sure to see Royal Patronage at this event to mark the occasion. Whether Queen Elizabeth attends is unclear but there will be some of the royal family present.
The men’s tournament looks to be one of the most highly anticipated for many years with the young guns sure to be serving it up (no pun intended) to the old guard of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Iga Swiatek will be strong favourite for the ladies title, but on this totally different surface will we maybe get a surprise winner?
If you are placing a bet on the tournament then make sure to hunt around for the best odds and don’t forget you can bet each-way at 1/2 odds for reaching the final.