What is trading tennis on Betfair?

If you have found this page you are probably wondering how to make money trading tennis on the Betfair Exchange. Tennis is one of the most popular sports on Betfair after horse racing and football.

Tennis matches are played almost all year round with the main ATP and WTA tours running from January to the end of November. There are plenty of matches to choose from and there are often 4 of 5 tournament running in the same week.

So were do you start? While you don’t have to be an expert on tennis it will help if you know the basics.

Here are a few points to get you started.

Scores progress from “love” to “fifteen” to “thirty” to “forty” to “game” rather than 0.1.2.3.4. However a player needs to win by 2 clear points. If the score reaches 40 for both players the score is called as “deuce”. The player winning the next point is said to have “advantage”. For example if Murray is playing and wins a point at Deuce the score is called as “Advantage Murray”.

The umpire will call the serving player’s score first.

In each game only 1 player will serve and they serve in alternate games until 1 player reaches 6 games to win the set. They must win by 2 clear games though so if the games score reaches 5-5 if a player wins the next 2 games they win the set 7-5.

If the game score hits 6-6 then they play a tie break game. The player who received in the last game will serve first for 1 point. After that they each serve 2 points in a row. The winner is the player who gets to 7 points first but, again, they must win by 2 clear points. The tie break continues from 5-5 until 1 player has a 2 point lead. Note in a tie break the leading player’s score is given first followed by their name. For example, “4-2, Murray”.

Matches are the best of 3 sets. There are exceptions! Mens matches in Grand Slams are the best of 5 sets. Also the final of the Olympics tournament is the best of 5 sets for the men.

The above rules are for singles matches. Doubles matches can be different with no “advantage” point after deuce. The doubles pair winning the point at “deuce” win the game. Also deciding sets are sometimes played as a single tie break type game, called a “Super Tie Break”with the winner being the first to 10 points. They have to win by 2 clear points so from 8-8 they continue until one pair have a 2 point lead.

Once you know how the scoring system works in tennis you need to have a plan or strategy on how you will try to trade the match. There are lots of ways to trade tennis matches.

So what are our options when it comes to tennis trading strategies?

Some traders prefer to make lots of short trades. This is often called scalping. The benefits of a scalping strategy are that the trader is exposed to the market for just a few points. This limits the risk of large losses and they build up their profit with many small wins.

Other traders prefer to go for the bigger profits. They will have a good understanding of the players and will know how they react and perform in certain situations.

This type of trade is usually referred to as a swing trade. it requires an opening trade at a price that offers strong value. The trader will then wait for the player’s price to move a large number of ticks before closing the trade. This type of trade is potentially riskier than scalping as the trader is exposed to the market for longer.

If you would like to know more about specific tennis trading strategies that you can use on the Betfair Exchange buy my Trading Guide.

I have been trading tennis for the last decade and I like to think that I can teach almost anyone to make money on Betfair.

You will get lifetime support from me to ensure you get the most from your Betfair tennis trading.