Tim Harrison Explains the Differences Between the ATP Tour and WTA

If you’re passionate about tennis in the UK, you may already know about the topic of our discussion today. We will go over both ATP Tour and WTA and their scope in sports wagering. Don’t worry; we’re not going to do it by ourselves.

Rather, we have a wagering expert from BetZillion, Mr. Tim Harrison, among us. He’s going to take you through the ATP Tour and the WTA from a different angle, the wagering angle. Let’s sit tight and see what he has to say to the potential punters of the UK. 

But first, let’s take a quick look at the wagering scene in the UK. Also, Tim has prepared a great list of top tennis bookies in the country. After you’re well-versed in the ATP Tour and the WTA, you can use these sites to practice your hand at tennis wagering!

Tim Harrison on Sports Wagering in the UK?

Tim is pleased to let you know that all kinds of wagering are legal in the country, including sports like tennis. The UK Gambling Commission is the designated authority to regulate the market. Interestingly, the wagering sites he provided are also licensed by the UKGC. 

To legally wager in the UK, you must be 18 years old. Also, you need to have a valid address and a payment method in your name. Speaking of payment methods, credit cards for wagering have been barred since April 2020. So, your options are mostly debit cards, E-wallets, and bank transfers. 

Now that you’re certain about the legality of tennis wagering in the country, let’s move on to the topic of discussion for this post: the ATP Tour and the WTA. 

What Is the ATP Tour?

ATP is short for the Association of Tennis Professionals. It’s the largest governing body for men’s tennis in the world. It oversees the top 3 tournaments in men’s tennis as well, the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour, and the ATP champions tour. 

Tim wants to clarify the difference between the Grand Slam events and the ATP tour. Although the differences are quite prominent, he’s seen many rookie punters misinterpreting the events. 

The Grand Slam events comprise the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon (British), and the US Open (New York). Sure, these are the biggest names in tennis, but the ATP Tour does not organize them. Rather, these tournaments are governed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). 

Unlike the ATP Tour, the ITF is not a particular authority for men or women. Instead, it oversees the world of tennis from a gender-neutral perspective. 

The ATP Tour is a top-tier tennis tour for male professional players. It comprises a few different tournaments: the ATP Cup, the ATP Tour 250, the ATP Tour 500, the ATP Tour Masters 1000, and the ATP Finals. 

Apart from the top-tier tournaments, the ATP Tour also organizes a 2^nd tier tour known as the ATP Challenger Tour. The number of tournaments is relatively low for this tour as it only has the ATP Challenger Tour 125 and the ATP Challenger Tour Finals.

If you’re wondering about where other tournaments like the Davis Cups or the Olympics belong, they come under the supervision of ITF. 

If you’re familiar with the world rankings for male tennis players, it’s the ATP rankings. The organization publishes a ranking every week, forming a 52-week streak. The final ranking is known as the “ATP Race to London.” The race is to determine the year-end best player in both singles and doubles format. 

Based on these rankings, the players who make it to the top 8 qualify for the ATP Finals’ showdown. Also, the singles rankings are a great way to determine which players you should bet on in the next season. 

What Is WTA?

Like the ATP Tour is the men’s dedicated tennis authority, the WTA is the women’s. WTA is the short form for the Women’s Tennis Association. It was formed way back in 1973, just 1 year after the ATP Tour formation. 

Like the ATP Tour, the WTA is the main attraction of women’s tennis. The number of tournaments is somewhat limited in the WTA. You have the Premier 470, the Premier 5 900, and the Premier Mandatory 1000. It also includes 32 international tournaments with prize money varying between $250,000 and $750,000!

Like the ATP Tour rankings, you can use the WTA singles rankings as a guide for your tennis wagering in the UK. Thanks to intense competition, you can expect to find identical odds on both ATP and WTA matches. 

What Are the Differences between the ATP Tour and the WTA?

We asked Tim Harrison about the obvious differences between the two tours. He positively answered that we already know about all the major differences. By that, he meant the variation in the structure of the tours. 

Also, there’s a little difference in the balls used in both tournaments. Both of them are the same size and have the same characteristics. However, the ATP Tour uses heavy-duty balls while the WTA goes with regular balls. 

The result is that the ATP Tour matches are relatively slow-paced compared to WTA matches. It’s something you may never notice because the differences are very subtle. But they’re certainly there. 

Tennis Wagering in the UK: What Should You Know?

As Tim has shared a great list of the top tennis bookies in the UK, we couldn’t help but ask him for tips regarding tennis wagering. 

The first thing he said was to research. And it’s not just for tennis. The key to success in wagering lies in how well you can explore the sport, the event, and the past statistics. According to Tim, you can get half the job done by doing pre-match research. 

When you do, you get a clear understanding of the players’ current form, the condition of the venues, and the morale of the participants. Also, Tim advises keeping an eye on the news to pick up anything that may help with an informed decision. 

One of the best pieces of advice that we got is the odds comparison. Tim specifically mentioned the bookmakers he suggested and asked the potential punters to compare the odds once the events are listed. 

The reason is simple. Different bookmakers use different parameters and different analysts to project the odds. So, there’s always going to be a difference. As a punter, your job is to find the longest odds for the same markets. That way, you can ensure that you have made the most profits possible. 

Final Words

Tennis is a relatively complex sport if you’re a newcomer. And it might get even more intimidating if you bring wagering into the mix. We brought in an expert from BetZillion, Mr. Tim Harrison, to explain the differences between the ATP Tour and the WTA to balance the equation out. 

He also shared some amazing tips on how you can succeed with tennis wagering in the UK. Now, it’s time for you to test your luck.