Bet on Tennis

Tennis is another modern sport that takes its root from Europe. Most historians believe that tennis originated in France in the 12th century, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand.

By the 16th century rackets came into use, and the game was called "tennis", from the old French term Tenez, which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent.

The game was popular in England and France, although it was only played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as "Real Tennis".

Between 1859 and 1865 Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa.

Today, two of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments - the Championships Wimbledon and the French Open - are held in European soil (more like grass and clay, respectively).

The Madrid Open is another popular Tennis tournament held in Europe.

Not surprisingly, European Tennis players have dominated the world rankings. In fact, the 2011 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Rankings showed that nine of the top 10 players in the world are from Europe.

As the popularity of the game spreads throughout the world, so is betting on tennis.

Available bets on Tennis

There are generally three ways to bet on Tennis, these are:

  • Outright Tennis Tournament Winner - a bet on which player (or pair if in a doubles match) will be the outright winner of a Tennis tournament (e.g. bet on this year's Wimbledon or French Open Champion).

  • Matchup - a bet on the winner of a match (e.g. bet on the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer).

  • Sets - a bet on the winner of each seat of a match (e.g. the winner of the first set of the match between Juan M Del Potro and Mardy Fish).

In a bet on the outright winner of a Tennis tournament, online sports betting sites list the participating players with their corresponding odds, just like the following:

Outright Tennis Tournament Winner
Novak Djokovic 7/4
Rafael Nadal 2/1
Roger Federer 4/1
Andy Murray 7/1
Juan M Del Potro 16/1
Bernard Tomic 20/1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 25/1
Robin Soderling 40/1
Tomas Berdych 60/1
David Nalbandian 80/1

You just have to bet on your favorite Tennis player or the player who you think has the best chance to win the Tournament.

Let's say you, you picked Novak Djokovic and placed a €10.00 bet. At odds of 7/4, if Djokovic wins the tournament, your €10.00 bet will win €17.50 for a total payout of €27.50 (your original bet plus your winnings).

If you bet €20.00 on Rafael Nadal, and Nadal wins the tournament, at odds of 2/1, your total play out will be €60.00 (€20.00 original bet plus your €40.00 winnings).

If you bet €10.00 on a long shot like David Nalbandian, and Nalbandian wins the tournament, at odds of 80/1, your total payout will be €810.00 (€10.00 original bet plus your €800.00 winnings).

Meanwhile, in a matchup Tennis bet, you just have to pick the winner of a particular tennis match. Betting sites usually list the matchup of the players with their corresponding odds, just like the following:

Caroline Wozniacki 1/7 Maria Sharapova 4/1
Victoria Azarenka 11/4 Vera Zvonareva 1/4
Petra Kvitova 6/4 Samantha Stosur 1/2

Let's say you placed a €10.00 bet on Caroline Wozniacki. If Wozniacki wins the match against Maria Sharapova, at odds of 1/7, your €10.00 bet will win €1.42 for a total payout of €11.42.

If you bet €20.00 bet on Petra Kvitova and she wins the match against Samantha Stosur, at odds of 6/4, your €20.00 bet will win €30.00 for a total payout of €50.00.

Many sports betting sites also offer a bet on each set of a Tennis match. They usually list the matchup of the players with their corresponding odds, just like the following:

Wimbledon - First Set Winner
Novak Djokovic 7/2 Rafael Nadal 2/11
Roger Federer 3/10 Andy Murray 12/5
Juan M Del Potro 9/4 Bernard Tomic 1/3

Let's say you placed a €10.00 bet on Roger Federer. If Federer wins the first set of his match against Andy Murray, at odds of 7/2, your €10.00 bet will win €35.00 for a total payout of €45.00.

If you bet €20.00 bet on Rafael Nadal and he wins the first set of his match against Novak Djokovic, at odds of 2/11, your €20.00 bet will win €3.63 for a total payout of €23.63.

Meanwhile, there are also sports betting sites that list "Specials" or proposition bets. These "Specials" include bets on the total number of Major Tennis tournament wins for a specified player; whether or not a specified player will win the grand slam; or which tournament a specified player will go the furthest in.


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