The 2023/24 in tennis was one to behold. We have seen it all and there are still two or so months in the year with a lot of competitive tennis to come. There have been upsets, there have been redemption stories, and certain greats have retired while others cemented their status in this beautiful sport. With several important events lined up in front of us, it is time to look at the tail end of the season through the lens of not only a tennis fan but also an online sports wagering enthusiast.
If you enjoy watching the matches while cheering on your favorite player(s) but also enjoy placing an occasional wager on the outcome, this is the article for you. Think of it as a guide to what is still to come in the year 2024 with several important tournaments like Davis Cup and ATP Finals waiting. There are some smaller but still impactful tourneys being played so why not combine all of these and see who has the best odds and what the sportsbooks are recommending? After all, the best course of action is to bet on all tennis tournaments and increase your chances of a strong payout!
Davis Cup, The International Tourney
If there was ever something similar in tennis to the World Cup in football, it would be the Davis Cup tournament. It is the chance for a professional tennis player to win the biggest trophy of their career not just for himself, but for the country. As such, it has a special meaning and carries a lot of weight, both figuratively and literally considering how big the actual trophy is! Most great players only get a few chances to win it all and it takes a combination of great form, luck, and timing to capture the elusive title. The defending champions are Italy and they do not seem to be done just yet.
The quarterfinals are set with the matches being played between November 19 and November 21. The semis are scheduled for November 22 and 23, and the final on November 24. The first of the quarterfinal matches is Spain versus Netherlands, with the Spanish side being the absolute favorites due to a guy named Carlos Alcaraz. Their team also features Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Marcel Granollers Pujol. They are going up against Tallon Griekspoor, Botic van de Zandschulp, Jasper de Jong, and Wesley Koolhof. The Spaniards are the absolute favorites, evident by their odds of winning the whole tourney standing at 3.25. The Dutch team has no chance with their odds sitting at 36.00.
In the second quarterfinal matchup, we have Germany versus Canada, a much more well-rounded clash. The Canadians have slightly better odds to win it all with 8.50 while Germans are currently sitting at 10.00. For the North American team, it is Denis Shapovalov leading the team backed up by Gabriel Diallo, Milos Raonic, Alexis Galarneau, and Vasek Pospisil. They will be facing a German side sans Alexander Zverev, featuring Jan-Lennard Struff, Yannick Hanfmann, Kevin Krawietz, and Tim Putz. Canada is a clear favorite and should move on to face the Spanish team in the semis.
On the other side of the bracket, we have the heavyweights and 3 of the top 5 favorites to win the 2024 Davis Cup. First, the defending champions and the current favorites Italy face Argentina. The Italians have been dominating the last two years and look to repeat as champs, which is also what the bookies think as Stake.com gives them 2.75 odds of winning another trophy. Jannik Sinner is the world No. 1 right now and is playing the best tennis of his life. He is backed up by Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori, and Simone Bolelli. They will be facing the Argentinians who are without chance as the second-worst favored team with 31.00 odds. Playing for them are Sebastian Baez, Francisco Cerundolo, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Andres Molteni, and Maximo Gonzales.
When the Italians eventually go through to the semis, they will be waiting for the winner of the United States versus Australia matchup, the most well-rounded quarterfinals. The USA is sitting at 5.50 odds while the Aussies are slightly less favored with 7.50. Basically, it is anyone’s guess who takes on the Italians in the next round because of how evenly matched they appear to be. For the Americans, it is the trio of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Benjamin Shelton leading the way, while Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek play the doubles. The Aussies are a bit weaker overall with Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell, and Matthew Ebden defending the Down Under.
ATP Finals in Turin
The year-end tournament is something that tennis fans as well as the players participating love to be a part of. It is the culmination of the entire year because only the 8 most successful take part. Throughout the year, players gain ATP points, and the 8 who have won the most end up battling it out against each other for astonishing prize money. It is a tennis competition unlike any other, one that awards no ATP points but does give you millions of reasons to show up and show out. At the moment, it is Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, Medvedev, Fritz, Djokovic, Ruud, and Rublev as the leading 8, with de Minaur and Dimitrov rounding up the top 10. In any case, it is always a spectacle when the best players in the past year face off against each other for nothing more than pure cash and bragging rights. The total prize pool is $15.25 million and the location is Turin, Italy.
The defending champion is Novak Djokovic who also managed to defend his 2022 title last year when he beat Jannik Sinner 6 – 3, 6 – 3, for the record 7th title. Djokovic has not had the greatest of years in 2024 as he has failed to win an ATP title so far, something he is not familiar with. However, he did win the Paris Summer Olympics gold medal, something that has eluded him for almost two decades at this point. For him, the year was a success and he can be expected to take a step back and not push it. Therefore, Novak is not the bookies’ favorite to win it all, but rather the 3rd in the forecasts.
Who is the frontrunner, you may ask? Well, that would be the player who has had a year to remember in 2024, Jannik Sinner. So far in 2024, he has won the Australian Open, Rotterdam 500, Masters 1000 Miami, Halle 500, Masters 1000 Cincinnati, US Open, and Masters 1000 Shanghai. He has absolutely dominated the year and will finish as the year No. 1. Therefore, he is the man to beat next year and the prime target for the rest of the players. Together with last year’s Davis Cup title and being the favorite to repeat this year, he is the obvious choice for the Finals title. It would be his first after losing in front of the home crowd last year. This time around, the title is surely his.
If there was a player to disrupt his plans, it would be the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. He has won 4 titles in 2024 so far, a step down from 5 in 2022 and 6 in 2023. He added Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and Beijing 500 to his list of accomplishments, a very good year, but he did have some disappointments, mainly when he lost in the Olympics final to Novak Djokovic on his preferred grounds at Roland Garros. That was followed by a few early exists in the following 500 and 1000 tourneys, but he will be the clear-cut number 2 favorite for the ATP Finals in Turin. Wagering on a Sinner VS Alcaraz final would be a good wager. Check out this Tennis betting promotion for more special end-of-season wagers.
How to Wager on Tennis?
As with most other sports, there are plenty of ways to wager on a tennis match. The sport is diverse and engaging enough for many different things to happen, which means that bookies and online wagering platforms offer punters numerous ways to wager. It is an exciting way to think about the sport and look at it from a different view. In this section we talk about the most common wagers in tennis and what makes them a good option.
Wagering on the match winner is the most common and straightforward wager you can make. You simply pick the player to win and that is it. Obviously, it is popular because of the ease and is the most common among novice wagerers, but also those who want a quick wager or when a match is certainly going in one player’s favor.
Set wagering is a great thing about tennis because it allows you to predict the exact score in terms of sets. If it is a Grand Slam match, you can pick 3 – 0, 3 – 1, or 3 – 2. Opting for this wager implies you know the strengths and weaknesses of both players, their previous head-to-head record as well as how good they are on a certain surface.
Similar to sets is game wagering where you pick a specific game within a single match. Crucial moments slike break points and factors like how good the server is play a big role. Also, this is arguably the best live wagering option for tennis as it is quick enough to make several wagers while watching the match.
Just like every other sport, there is the over/under wager. In tennis, it is usually played for games and sets where you guess the total number of games per match or the total number of sets. The bookies set a line and you either pick more or fewer. Other over/under wagers can also be played that take aces or other stats into consideration.
Different prop wagers exist to make things more interesting and nuanced. Specialized wagers like these are mostly reserved for the veterans of wagering and tennis experts because they require deeper knowledge and experience. You can wager on who wins the first set, the first game, or even the first point. These offer great value and are fun, but are ultimately difficult to get right.
How to Prepare for Tennis Wagering?
Since it is a form of wagering after all, online wagering on tennis has its fair share of luck involved. Still, there is plenty you can do to increase your chances and get away with winning more often than losing. It is a sport after all and therefore something you can watch and get good at predicting. Being a fan is already a huge plus because you know the players and the tournaments, as well as who has better chances throughout the year. Utilizing this knowledge will help you.
The most important things to consider deal with researching the players’ current form, condition, and head-to-head records. Recent performance is a great indication of what you can expect, as well as surface preferences. There is a reason why Nadal won 14 Roland Gaross titles and only 2 Wimbledons. He is the King of Clay after all, so wagering against him on this surface was not a good idea. A similar approach should be had for all players.
Following the news and stories to stay updated is a big plus if you are just getting into the sport and wagering. You can read up on or hear about injuries, personal issues, coaching staff changes, or private affairs keeping the players distracted. Most tennis news channels and programs also analyze matches and do previews of upcoming tournaments. All of this matters when placing wagers.
Finally, you need to set a budget and never risk more money than you can lose. Stick to your plan and respect the boundaries you have set. Bankroll management is everything as it protects you from ending up in debt as well as from developing a wagering addiction. Start small and practice with smaller wagers until you learn what needs to be done and how. There will come a time when you get good enough to start going bigger and making more high-stakes tennis wagers.
