In this piece we will look at what constitutes live tennis betting, the pros and cons associated with in-play betting and the tips and strategies one can use to excel at it.
We have covered tennis betting in depth in our ultimate tennis betting guide here and a few of the other articles on this website. So before you kick-start your journey on understanding what in-play betting in tennis is, you might want to have a read on some of those pieces.
That being said, it is not imperative you do that because live tennis betting can be understood on a standalone basis as well.
What is in-play tennis betting or live tennis betting? It is the type of tennis betting one can look to indulge in during a live match as opposed to before the start of the match.
So, to cite an example, if Rafael Nadal is taking on Carlos Alcaraz in a French Open semifinal, and you place a bet on any of the available tennis betting markets before the start of that match, it doesn’t constitute live tennis betting. It’s called pre-match tennis betting.
However, once the tennis match has begun and you place a bet on any of the available live markets at that point, it makes it in-play tennis betting.
Most bookmakers offer betting on live tennis matches and in fact some top ones like bet365 and SpreadEx also stream these matches live to make it easier for you to watch and bet on these matches.
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Live Tennis Betting Explained
As we have already explained betting on tennis matches as they are happening live is what we refer to as in-play tennis betting or live tennis betting.
The odds for the tennis markets associated with live tennis betting are often changing constantly and that makes them difficult to follow for those who do not have a lot of experience having bet live on tennis.
Continuing with the example above of the Nadal v Alcaraz match, a game typically lasts three or four minutes in which they could end up playing six to eight points. What that means is there’s not a lot of time between points when the live tennis odds fluctuate, giving the punter very little time to devise a winning strategy.
Bookmakers are able to provide these quick, fluctuating odds because they have state-of-the-art software algorithms propelling these changes based on the latest scores and history associated with the players, tournament and the surface among other factors.
To supervise these software changes, there’s always a set of personnel who are constantly monitoring the algorithm in case it throws in a curveball capable of losing the bookmakers a lot more money than they would like.
All of this makes it very difficult to make money for someone not used to betting on live tennis matches. That is not to say it’s impossible to do so but it also implies a punter needs to be very careful before venturing into the world of live sports betting.
This is also why it might not be a bad option to have a look at our tennis betting guide for beginners here before you get down to live tennis punting.
Markets During In-Play Betting
Much like pre-match tennis betting, in-play betting also has its own set of markets to bet on and while some of those are similar to each other, one can make a note of some of the others too in the section below.
Here’s a list of some of the top tennis betting markets for in-play betting.
To Win the Match
This isn’t too different from pre-match betting except the odds on offer reflect the then-situation of the match and a punter can bet live on a match result in conjunction with a pre-match bet as well.
To Win the Set
This live bet considers the current score in order to deliver tennis betting odds to the two players/teams for winning the ongoing set. A player up a break could be a huge favourite to win the set in men’s tennis but the same might not be applicable in women’s tennis.
Check the men’s v women’s live tennis betting section below for this.
To Win the Game
Typically speaking, bookmakers accept live tennis bets on the game winner for the next game. For instance if Nadal leads Alcaraz 4-2 and is 30-15 in the seventh game of the match, live odds for the eighth game will be on offer for the punter.
As soon as the seventh game finishes, the odds for the eighth game winner are frozen and those for the ninth game will be on display.
To Win the Next Point
Again, live odds for the winner of the next point in a match are given to punters but as you would appreciate, this is live for a few seconds before they change to the next point.
Again, typically, if the score is 15-0 in favour of the server, the odds for the third point will be on display for the bettors.
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Some of the other live tennis betting markets include:
- Game Score (game to be won to 15, 30, or to deuce and by which player)
- 1st Point Winner in Game
- Game Score after Two, Three or Four Points in a Game
- Total Points in the Game – could be four, five, six or over
- Set Score – depending on the situation of the set, odds offered for whether it will end 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 and so on
- Total Games in Set (over/under)
- Next Player to Break – as the name suggests, this allows the punter to place a bet on who will get the next break of serve in the match
Moneyline v Prop Bets
All of the live tennis bets come under either moneyline or prop betting category.
Moneyline betting is the more traditional form of sports betting in which odds for the result of a match are provided and these obviously keep changing live as the tennis match progresses.
Prop bets are usually the under/over bets which are independent of the results. For instance, the number of aces that could be hit by a player in an over/under form is a prop bet.
So let’s assume John Isner, whose game is based around his serve and hits a heavy number of aces, is playing Diego Schwartzman in the US Open.
A pre-match betting market could offer odds of 5/6 for Isner to smash over 24.5 aces in the match. If he then ends up smashing 12 aces in the first set, this could change to odds of 5/6 for over/under 36.5 at the end of the opening set.
This kind of betting live is called a live prop bet in tennis.
Similarly over/under number of games in a tennis match is another example of prop bet which could change as the encounter develops.
Differences Between Live & Pre-Match Tennis Betting
The biggest difference between live betting and pre-match betting in tennis from the standpoint of the punter is the pace at which the odds change.
Typically, in live tennis betting, one has to be on top of one’s tactics to understand the quick odds changes and make split-second decisions whether to bet or not. On the other hand, pre-match tennis betting allows punters that time luxury to analyse at one’s own pace and then take that betting call.
Some of the other differences between live and pre-match tennis betting include:
- Pre-match betting has your standard, more orthodox markets while live tennis betting allows bookmakers to offer odds for some of the more unusual markets. For instance, the ‘game score after three points’ market is usually offered only in live betting and not in pre-match betting. Most, if not all, pre-match betting markets can be offered live too though.
- Some bookmakers also offer promotions during live markets which are not on offer for pre-match tennis bets.
- As ironic as it may sound, bookmakers could take time to confirm a bet in live market. Pre-match betting confirmation is instantaneous.
- Odds for all professional tennis events are available pre-match but not all matches are covered live.
- As mentioned earlier, the odds change quickly in a live scenario which makes it imperative for the punters to have a quick eye and thinking. While pre-match bets also require analysis, it becomes even more pertinent in a live tennis betting environment.
Live Tennis Betting Best Strategies & Tips
There isn’t a whole lot of difference between live tennis betting and betting pre-match on tennis as far as strategy is concerned and we would recommend you to read our tennis betting guide on winning big here.
There are still a few differences and we would like to enumerate some of the tips that have worked well for us while betting live on tennis.
- Pre-Match Preps: Some might say this is no different to betting pre-match because one needs to prepare accordingly for both types of tennis betting but the key difference is the speed at which things change in live tennis betting. Which is also why there’s a need to prepare even better and in-depth for live tennis betting.
- Men’s v Women’s Tennis: There’s always a sense of unpredictability that comes with women’s tennis and that can be seen from the number of different players who have won a Grand Slam in recent times (Elena Rybakina at the 2022 Wimbledon being a case in point). More so in live betting, this leads to stunning turnarounds, especially when it comes to breaks of serves which are far greater in number and that is a factor one needs to consider while betting live on women’s tennis matches.
- Player Fitness Levels: In live Grand Slam betting, the fitness levels of players in the men’s draw plays a substantial part. Not everyone is used to playing best-of-five sets and that is what separates the top players from those outside the upper echelon of tennis stars. Pay close attention to which players might have done well in best-of-three competitions but struggle to cope as the match grows longer.
- Better Reading of Stats: Player and match statistics are your best guide to help you in taking an informed decision on what to bet on. Check for how a player is serving and receiving for instance and compare it with the player’s overall record that season on that surface to check for whether it’s at par and take a call accordingly.
- Hidden Value: In most of his early round matches at Wimbledon 2022, Novak Djokovic went in as a huge favourite to win it including his quarterfinal match against Jannik Sinner where he was 1/10 to clinch it. Down two sets to love, those odds changed drastically to favour Sinner and this might have been a good time to find that hidden value in still betting for Djokovic because one knew that even if the Serb won one set, the odds would drastically alter yet again and it might give the punter a good opportunity to cash out.
- Other factors like a player’s body language or the changes in weather could also play a part. There are stadiums in the world which have a retractable roof and a change in weather forces the organisers to change from an outdoor match to an indoor one for instance. This could turn things around because there are some who do better indoors than outdoors. At the time of writing, for instance, Felix Auger-Aliassime has made it 13 ATP finals and eight of them have come indoors – an indicator that a weather-induced change in court could bring about a change in fortunes.
- Hedge the Bets: One of the advantages associated with live betting is it allows punters to hedge their bets. So if one has bet pre-match on Elena Rybakina to win the Wimbledon 2022 semifinal against Simona Halep at 5/2 odds and later seen the Kazakh pouch the first set and become a favourite, it would have made sense to hedge the bet live by putting money on Halep too at around 11/10 to win money whoever won the encounter.
Final Words on Live Tennis Betting
Live tennis betting is an exciting way to bet on tennis but it comes with its own risks and punters need to be careful about getting into it without research. There are some very distinct advantages of betting live on a tennis match and with proper preparation it could lead to a tidy profit for those betting live.