Any successful tennis betting strategy requires patience and discipline to see it through. This might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but nailing winning bets is far more thrilling than losing time and again!
You don’t need to be an expert on betting on tennis in order to form a coherent strategy. All you need is a little nous and a willingness to trust in your decisions.
In this guide we’ll take you through five tennis betting strategies available to all players. These go further than mere tennis betting tips. Instead, learn about how to set up your strategy and how to keep on the ball when other bets may appear more profitable.
WELCOME TO PADDY POWER NEWS!
Adopt a tennis betting strategy
If you’re new to tennis betting then it’s worth checking out our tennis tips pages to get the latest picks from our experts. Keep an eye, too, on our tennis betting online glossary so that you’re clued up with how tennis betting works and the different odds types.
Now, let’s take a look at the five tennis betting strategies that could help transform your wagers…
Rely on head to heads
Head to head stats are the easiest means of assessing who will win matches. They’re generally better than relying on ATP or WTA rankings to predict match winners. That’s because players have their individual styles, and some are better at facing certain styles than others.
For example, a player might have a 4-0 winning record over their rival on clay but a 1-5 losing record on hard. If the pair are about to meet in a singles match at, say, the Miami Open then the head-to-head form suggests said player will likely lose here.
Always look at the head to head records to check, too, the form one player has over another. It might be that a player has a 6-3 winning record over their rival, but their last victory was four matches and eight years ago. If this is the case, perhaps it’s smarter to back the other player.
Back favourites in Slams
Both men and women singles players channel much of their energy into the Grand Slams. The very best will even sacrifice playing in other tournaments to be ready for the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
Grand Slams are where the big players come to the fore and there are very few upsets, especially in men’s tennis.
The odds don’t lie and when big seeds are heavy favourites to progress to the semi-finals and final that’s because they almost certainly will.
Grand Slam men’s tennis is particularly predictable. It relies heavily on aces and minimising mistakes. The five-set format favours the fitter, stronger, more consistent players. They are therefore well worth backing, even if their odds are slim.
Exploit first round accas
Accumulator betting in tennis is a strategy that many punters master early on. The idea with accas is that you clump together a series of single bets into one mega bet. All legs of your bet need to win in order for you to win a payout at far greater odds.
The problem with accas is that one losing leg can be enough to kill the bet. So you need to back your favourites wherever you can.
In men’s tennis especially this is ideal. The favourite most often wins and the disparity between the big boys and the also-rans, especially in the first rounds of Grand Slams, is enormous.
Perhaps the best tennis betting strategy is to utilise the power of accumulators and throw dead-certs into one mega bet. You might need to risk a sizable stake to earn a favourable profit but in all likelihood your dead-cert picks will come good.
Chase upsets in WTA
While men’s singles tennis is predictable, the women’s tour offers greater chances of upsets. The WTA is far less reliant on serves, which means baseline consistency, overall technique and form all have a greater influence on matches.
This means you can more confidently back underdogs in the tennis betting odds and chase bigger wins.
This strategy is, of course, fraught with losses. You’re likely to lose more bets than you win. But the logic here is that your winning bets will be at such good odds that your profit outpaces your losses.
Use in-play tennis betting too to keep an eye on how matches are panning out and don’t be shy to cut your losses by cashing out early on losing bets.
Back aces on hard courts
In play tennis betting strategies aren’t overly common but one of the best is to focus on aces. Across the ATP players hit roughly 30% fewer aces on hard courts than clay. In fact, there are 0.61 aces per game in men’s singles hard-court matches – far more than on clay or grass.
If we assume there’s an ace more than once every two service games, we can make smarter in-play betting decisions. Paddy Power offers next point betting on thousands of matches each year, where you can bet on aces.
Men’s tennis matches average seven points per game. So, by that logic we can expect an ace every 14 points. Betting in-play means you can time your wagers and more accurately predict when an ace is coming.
So there you have it! Five tennis bet strategies to get you going and improve your selections. Check out our tennis odds today and see how far your next strategy will take you.
THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW