Tennis: a simple market with complicated rules
Tennis has two players and no draw, so the winner market is simple. The complicated part is the rules on retirement and interrupted matches — they can decide whether your stake is returned.
Markets, odds and limits are set by the operator and change constantly; this page explains the principles.
Markets
- Match winner.
- Set betting.
- Game handicap.
- Total games.
Retirement
If a player retires, operators handle it differently: refund the bet, settle it on the completed set, or count it as lost. The rule is in the operator's sports terms and should be read before you bet.
Margin on a two-way market
Odds of 1.50 and 2.60: 66.7% + 38.5% = 105.2%, a margin of about 5%. An illustration. On a two-way market the margin is easy to calculate and compare.
Handicap example: if the favourite has a −4.5 game handicap, they must win at least five more games than the opponent. The odds for that bet are higher than for a simple win.
Surfaces and tournament levels
Tournaments run almost all year, and a single day can have hundreds of matches at different levels. At lower-level events there is less information and the margin can be higher. Surface — clay, grass or hard court — and a player's form on it matter, but that information is already priced into the odds.
Rain and darkness
Outdoor matches are interrupted by rain or bad light and resumed the next day. The operator's rules decide whether the bet stands if the match is completed later. Usually it stands if the match finishes within a set period, but check the specific rules.
Live betting
Every point moves the odds. Live tennis betting can be very fast: more bets, and therefore more total edge for the operator.
Compared with slots
Tennis bets and slots differ in rhythm, not in principle: in both the operator has an edge. We explain slot maths on the slots page.