This is probably one of the most obvious questions anyone considering tennis trading will ask:

Can you actually make money doing it?

The simple answer is yes.

I’ve been trading tennis professionally since 2010, so I obviously wouldn’t still be doing it if it wasn’t possible to make money.

However, that’s very different from saying that tennis trading is easy money.

It isn’t.

Like any form of trading, there are skills to learn, mistakes to make and experience to gain.

Making Money Doesn’t Mean Winning Every Trade

One of the first things new traders need to understand is that losing trades are unavoidable.

I still have them. Anyone who tells you that they never have losing trades is having a problem with reality.

The goal isn’t to find a system that never loses. It is to make sure that, over time, your profitable trades outweigh your losses.

This is where risk management becomes so important.

A trader who makes sensible profits but regularly allows one bad trade to wipe out several good ones is going to struggle to make consistent progress.

Consistency Is More Important Than The Occasional Big Win

It’s very easy to be impressed by screenshots showing somebody making a large profit from a single match.

But one successful trade tells you very little.

What happens over the next 50 trades?

Or the next 500?

I’ve always preferred an approach based on consistency rather than trying to make a huge profit from individual matches.

That may not produce the most exciting screenshots, but it is a much more sustainable way to approach trading.

Also, if you are hoping to make a second income or maybe even a full time income, you need to control the stress that you put yourself under.

A dull day is very often a good one.

You Need Realistic Expectations

One of the biggest problems with anything involving betting or trading is the expectation of making large amounts of money very quickly.

If you start with that mindset, you’re likely to take too much risk.

A small trading bank isn’t suddenly going to provide you with a full-time income.

Your potential returns are influenced by the size of your bank, the amount you’re prepared to risk, the opportunities available and, most importantly, the quality of your decisions.

As your experience and trading bank grow, the amount you can potentially make can grow too.

But trying to rush that process is usually counterproductive.

Making Money And Making A Living Are Different Things

This is an important distinction.

You can become a profitable tennis trader without earning enough to give up your job.

Those are two completely different targets.

For someone starting out, the first goal should simply be learning how to trade correctly and consistently with small stakes.

Can you follow your trading plan?

Can you manage your losses? In fact, learning how not to lose is a skill that you just can’t do without.

Can you avoid forcing trades?

Can you make sensible decisions when the market moves against you?

Once you’re doing those things consistently, you have something you can build on.

Your Trading Bank Matters

The amount of money you have available obviously affects the amount of profit you can realistically make.

A trader using a £500 bank and somebody using a £10,000 bank shouldn’t expect to make the same amount of money even if they’re using exactly the same strategies.

But increasing your stakes before you have the experience to manage them isn’t the answer.

It’s much better to learn with amounts you’re comfortable with and increase your stakes gradually as your confidence and consistency improve.

I always advise new traders to start with tiny stakes. You can also paper trade but you will learn quicker if you have actual money at risk. You WILL make mistakes so it makes no sense to allow them to cost you a lot.

Experience Makes A Difference

There is no substitute for experience. No one can give you experience. They can only give you the benefit of their own experience.

When you’re new, you’ll make mistakes.

You’ll sometimes enter too early, or not at all.

You’ll exit too late.

You’ll take trades that you later realise you should have avoided.

That’s part of learning.

Over time, you begin to recognise situations you’ve seen before. Your decision-making improves and you become much more comfortable accepting that not every trade is going to work.

That experience is one of the biggest advantages a long-term trader has.

Don’t Judge Yourself On One Day

Trading results need to be viewed over a meaningful period of time.

You can trade well and lose money on a particular day.

You can also trade badly and make a profit.

Neither tells you very much on its own.

What matters is whether your approach produces positive results consistently over a much larger number of trades.

That’s why I don’t get too excited about an unusually good day or too disappointed by a poor one.

The bigger picture is far more important.

So, Can You Really Make Money Trading Tennis?

Yes.

But there isn’t a shortcut.

Successful tennis trading comes from understanding the markets, finding good opportunities, managing risk and making sensible decisions consistently.

You need to manage your stress levels so that you have a better chance of making solid decisions.

You don’t need every trade to win.

You don’t need to spend all day trading.

And you certainly don’t need to chase huge profits from individual matches.

You need an approach that works over the long term.

I’ve been using and developing my approach since finding Betfair trading in 2008. Two years later, I started trading full time. My TradeShark Tennis Trading Course teaches the strategies and principles I use, while my Trading Tips service shows how I apply my analysis to current ATP and WTA matches.

FAQ articles

Can beginners learn Tennis Trading?

Why tennis trading is lower risk than betting

Why Trading Isn’t The Same As Betting

How To Manage Risk When Trading Tennis

What Makes A Good Tennis Trading Opportunity?

How Do I Know When To Exit A Trade?

When There Are Lots Of Matches, How Do I Choose Which One To Trade?

I’m Not A Great Fan Of Tennis. Is That A Problem?

Tennis Matches Can Last For Hours. Do I Have To Sit At The PC All Day?