One of the most popular and interesting tennis betting markets is the tennis handicap betting and in the piece below, we explain what exactly does a tennis handicap mean and how can you make money using this market.

1. Tennis betting odds help: Odds Portal offers tennis odds comparison and results from all ATP & WTA tennis tournaments and team competitions. You can compare home / away odds, over / under, asian handicap odds, correct score, odd or even odds and tennis outrights betting odds.
2. Typically, tennis lines are used for handicap betting, whereby bettors can wager “over” or “under” a handicap. Meanwhile tennis odds are more typically used for outright (moneyline) and prop bets. How Do Odds Work In Tennis? What does 20.5 and 22.5 mean in Tennis?

The second spread bet, which is unique to tennis, is the set spread. When betting the set spread, instead of looking at how many games a player wins, you are looking at how many sets they win. Most matches are best of three sets, and will have a set line of +-1.5. 2021 ATP Tour Match Odds. The ATP Tour is the top level of men's professional tennis with events around the world. Being top-tier events, you can enjoy watching players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem among others.

To kick-start this, it would make sense to inform the reader tennis handicap betting is the same as spread betting. Spread betting is a terminology that is more favoured in USA while handicap betting is a more European term.

There are over a dozen tennis markets to bet in the highly popular tennis betting markets but to be profitable there is a lot of risk one needs to take. Take an example of match betting, where you have to bet on the final result of the match which, for instance is between John Isner and Novak Djokovic.

Most of the people will favor Novak Djokovic, but odds are just 1.05 (1/20) on Novak Djokovic which has little value for punters to earn enough money while betting on John Isner is too risky. There is a solution to this problem and you still can bet on your favorite player with reasonably good betting odds. We are talking about tennis handicap betting, in which one isn’t betting on the tennis match result.

What is a Tennis Handicap or a Spread?

In tennis handicap betting, one player is provided a distinct advantage while the opponent player is provided a disadvantage or a handicap to balance their chances to win in the betting process.

As we are well aware, in a tennis match one player is favorite to win in most of the occasions. To mitigate this impression, handicap betting focused more on the performance of these two players rather than the final result of the match.

Games Handicap Betting (or Spread Betting)

An Example for This Type of Tennis Betting

Take the example of that same match above between Isner and Djokovic, most of the people will favor Djokovic and rightly so.

In a handicap market, let’s assume a bookmaker has provided a handicap of +3.5 games to John Isner. It means John Isner has a head start of 3.5 games. At the end of the best-of-three-set match, say the result of the match was 6-7, 6-5 and 4-6 in favor of Novak Djokovic, means he won 18 games against 16 pocketed by John Isner.

But when we count most games win after applying the +3.5 handicap on Isner, the result is in favor of Isner 16+3.5=19.5 as compared to Djokovic’s 18 games. Though the real match was won by Novak Djokovic, John Isner is the clear winner of your bet after applying the handicap.

Types of Handicap Betting

There are two types of handicap betting, the positive and negative handicap.

In a positive handicap, the weaker player is provided with the advantage of a few games or positive handicap e.g. +2.5, +3.5 games and so on.

When the final result comes out, this positive handicap is added to the weaker player’s final score and the result of the bet is according to handicap score.

In a negative handicap, the stronger player gets a disadvantage of few games, for example -2.5. This negative handicap is subtracted from the stronger player total games win at the end of the match and the result of the bet is according to this deduction.

In the example above, three possible results of handicap betting are given according to positive handicap.

Different Possible Results for this Betting

There are different possibilities on the result of a handicap betting.

Moving forward from the above-given example, Djokovic beats the Isner 6-3, 4-6 and 6-2. Djokovic wins 16 games while the John Isner wins 11 games.

When we apply handicap on the match, the result is 16 v 14.5 games in favor of Djokovic. First possible result, Djokovic wins the match and still the winner after applying handicap.

The second result of the match is like, Djokovic wins the match with 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 against the Isner. It means, Djokovic wins the match and pockets two sets and 14 games against one set and 13 games won by Isner. After applying the handicap, the score is in favor of John Isner, 16.5 v 14 games.

Second possible result of the handicap is John Isner has lost the match but declared as the winner of the bet when the handicap is applied.

The third possible result the match is John Isner win the match 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 and 2-1 sets. When we compare the result of the game, John Isner wins 14 games against the 18 games. Now after applying the handicap, Novak Djokovic is the winner of the bet with 18 games against the 17.5. As described earlier handicap betting is not concerned with the result of the match rather it is focused on the performance of two opponent players.

Likewise, the fourth scenario shown above is self-explanatory.

Set Handicap Betting (or Spread Betting)

This is not too dissimilar from the game handicap betting. Replace games with set and the more inferior-ranked players are given that positive handicap and the superior-ranked player afforded a negative one to allow punters to get better odds instead of rather one-sided ones.

This works way better during Grand Slams when men’s matches are played over best of five sets. However, you can also use tennis handicaps with best-of-three set matches as well, especially if you think the underdog is capable to clinching one set but won’t probably win the match.

Let’s take the Isner-Djokovic example again.

If you put your money on a Set Handicap at Isner +1.5, it means that you will win your bet if Isner wins one or two sets in the match. For you to lose your bet, Djokovic will have to complete a straight-set victory. All of a sudden, an overwhelmingly one-sided match in favour of Djokovic, allows the bettors to have a shot at winning at better odds.

In-Play Handicap Betting in Tennis

What’s interesting to note is that some bookmakers also offer in-play tennis handicap betting. This goes by the name of Current Set Handicap.

Tennis bettors can extend the games handicap in a match to a set, which means they can bet on the number of games won in the current set but with the application of a handicap. In the Djokovic-Isner example above, suppose the second set handicap is for Djokovic to win with a -2.5 handicap, it implies if the Serb will win by three or more games, the punter wins the bet.

So in conclusion, tennis handicap betting is one of the markets you could try out but as with others, do your research before you do that.

Tennis spread betting is the perfect way to enhance your enjoyment of a tennis match. The spread betting options come as thick and fast as it does on the court, and the number of markets on offer make it one of the most exciting sports to place a spread bet.

What is tennis spread betting?

Cover all the major men’s and women’s Grand Slams and Masters Series tournaments as well as crunch Davis Cup ties and season-long ATP Tour events. We offer markets on everything from Match Supremacy to the total points in a match, from set games to how a player will perform in Grand Slams across a calendar season.

How to spread bet on tennis

Sporting Index makes predictions on a number of events and scenarios within a tennis match or tournament. The spread has two prices, a buy and a sell price.

If you believe Sporting Index has pitched a quote too low, spread bettors can buy at the higher price, anticipating that the make-up of the market will be bigger than that price.

Likewise, if spread bettors think the buy price is too high then they can chose to sell at the lower price, believing the final make-up will be below the price they have sold at.

As a result, tennis spread betting offers much more variety than just backing a player to win or lose.

Click here to see our tennis spread betting markets.

Do you offer in-play tennis betting?

Sporting Index offers a wide range of tennis spread betting markets on live games and it is a sport which is perfect for in-play betting.

Prices are updated at the end of each point and one of the key advantages of in-play tennis spread betting is that you can open or close bets at any point during a match to secure a profit or limit a loss - something that can’t be done with fixed odds bets.

What is a tennis supremacy bet?

One of the most popular tennis spread betting markets is a Supremacy bet which is Sporting Index’s prediction of the winning margin of one player over another. This can be split into two different markets: game supremacy or match supremacy.

Game Supremacy

This is the winning margin, in terms of games, that one player beats another in a match. For example, if Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 7-5, the Game Supremacy would make-up 8 (4+2+2).

Sporting Index might have offered Djokovic’s Game Supremacy at 3.5-4.5 games, so if you had bought at 4.5 for £10 per point you would have won £35 (8 - 4.5 =3.5) x your stake (£10). However, this market can also have a negative supremacy so if Nadal had won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 it would have made-up at -1 meaning that you would have lost £55 (-1 - 4.5 = -5.5) x your stake (£10).

Match Supremacy

This is the winning margin of one player over the other with 10 points being awarded for the win and five points for each set won by. So, the maximum make-up in a five-set match would be 25 points, 10 for the win and 3 x 5pts for a straight sets win.

Let’s say that Andy Murray was playing Roger Federer and Sporting Index quote Murray’s 10-5 match supremacy at 10-13. If he won in four sets, the market would make-up at 20, meaning that if you had bought at 13 for £2 per point, you would make 7 times your stake (20 - 13 =7) x your stake (£2) = £14.

However, if Federer had won the game in five sets, the market would have made up at -15, meaning you would have lost 28 times your stake (-15 - 13 = -28) x your stake (£2) = -£56.

What games related tennis bets do you offer?

Sporting Index offers a number of tennis spread betting markets which are based on how many games take place in a match. One of the main advantages of this type of spread bet is that it doesn’t matter which player wins, only that a certain amount of games are played, be it a short straight-sets victory, or a long five-set battle.

Here are two of our most popular markets:

Total Games

This is simply a prediction on the total number of games played in a match. If you think it will be an easy, straight sets victory you might sell, while if you are confident it will go the distance you would buy.

Here’s an example:

Serena Williams is taking on Maria Sharapova and Sporting Index offer a quote of 23.5-24.5 games in the best of three sets match. Sharapova beats Williams 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 so the make-up is 29 (7+5+2+6+6+3), meaning that if you had bet higher at 24.5 for £10 per point you would have made £45 (29 - 24.5 = 4.5) x your stake (£10).

However, if the match had ended 6-4, 6-2 to either player, the market would have made up at 18, meaning a loss of 6.5 times your stake (18 - 24.5 = -6.5).

Cross Courts

This is one player’s individual set games won, multiplied by the other player’s set games won, and added together to form a total.

So, if Thomas Berdych beats David Ferrer 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in a three-set match, Cross Courts will make up at 71 (35+12+24 = 71). Sporting Index might have offered a spread of 62.5-67.5, so if you had bought at 67.5 for £10 per point you would have made £35 (71 - 67.5 = 3.5) x your stake (£10).

However, if the market had made up at 62, then you would have lost £55 (62 - 67.5 = -5.5) x your stake (£10).

What kind of points related tennis bets are available?

A number of Sporting Index’s tennis spread betting markets are based on how many points are contested in a match, or the number of a certain types of points in a match.

Here are some popular ones:

Total Points Played

As the name suggests, this is a prediction of the total number of points played in a match.

Sporting Index may predict that between 140-145 points will be played in a best of three sets match.If you think there will be 145 points or more you would buy (bet higher), while if you believe there will be 140 points or fewer you would sell (bet lower).

Total Aces/Total Double Faults

This is a market which predicts the total number of aces or the total number of double faults that are served in a match.

Sporting Index might quote Total Aces in a match between two big servers like John Isner and Juan Martin Del Potro at 37-39, but you feel that is too high and decide to sell at 37 for £5 per point. In the end there are 32 aces served in total, meaning that you make £25 (37 - 32 = 25) x your stake (£5). However, if it went the other way and there were 43 aces served you would lose £30 (37 - 43 = -6) x your stake (£5).

What are index related tennis bets?

Index-relatedtennis spread bets are based on how farplayers will progress in an event based on a certain points index.

For example, ahead of tournaments, Sporting Index offers a Championship Index Win Index where you can bet on how well or badly a player will do throughout the tournament. Points are awarded as follows: 60pts to the winner, 40pts to the runner-up, 20pts to losing semi-finalists, 10pts to losing quarter-finalists and 5pts to players who are eliminated in the last 16. If a player doesn’t get as far as the last 16 they will be awarded 0pts.

So, we might give Andy Murray a Wimbledon Championship Index spread of 16-19, meaning that he will have to make it to at least the semi-finals to earn a profit. If you decided to bet higher at 19 and he goes on to finish runner-up, you will make 21 times your stake (40 - 19 =21), but if he was knocked out in the quarters, you would lose 9 times your stake (10 - 19 = -9).

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