Wimbledon Betting Guide

If we have to point out a tournament that is the cream of the crop in the world of tennis, it would definitely be Wimbledon, the oldest Grand Slam event, the third in a row within one competition year. This is the only one of the four major tournaments that has never changed its venue, the only one that is still played on grass, and the only one that has special requirements for players’ clothing. As you see, we start with a lot of things that set Wimbledon apart from all other ATP and WTA events.

This divergence attracts the attention of avid tennis fans, journalists, punters, and hence all the leading online sportsbooks. In this article of our tennis betting guide, we will talk again about the surface of the court and all the specifics arising from it, but we will cover many other issues such as the history of this prestigious tournament, how it is structured, what are the most popular betting markets and last but not least, we will provide you with some basic tennis betting tips to help you have pleasant and profitable betting experience.

Wimbledon History and Traditions

Wimbledon is held every year in late June and early July in London. The Championship has over 140 years of history, officially held for the first time in 1877 at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, which since 1882 has been called the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As in almost all other tennis competitions in the world, female players became part of the scheme of the event shortly after its start, in this case in 1824. Another landmark year in Wimbledon’s existence was 1968 when the event was opened for professional players with the first champions being Rod Laver and Billie Jean King.

A few words about the most successful players in the history of Wimbledon. There is no way not to start with Martina Navratilova and her nine titles (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1990). She became a champion for the first time at the age of 21, and for her last title in London, she was already 33 years old. During this period, Navratilova defeated some of the greatest names in women’s tennis – Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Gabriela Sabatini. To make her halo shine even brighter, we will only mention that in addition to the nine times when Martina Navratilova lifted the singles trophy, she is also a seven-time women’s doubles champion and four-time mixed doubles champion. As for men, two great players share the first place when it comes to the number of titles conquered, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The same number of finals won, as well as the fact that they are representatives of two different generations, make us refrain from pointing out who is more successful. The Swiss brought home five straight crowns from 2003 to 2007 and added two more in 2009 and 2012. Before him, for a period of eight years, Sampras also became a seven-time Wimbledon winner, his only failure being the loss to Richard Krajicek in 1996 (quarterfinals).

In the opening paragraph of this Wimbledon betting guide, we mentioned the special clothing requirements. An obligatory condition for participation in the tournament, which players invariably observe, is to be dressed entirely in white. No exceptions are allowed even for the most famous players on the tour. In 2013, for example, Roger Federer was criticized for having white shoes with an orange sole and had to change them for his next match. The eccentric Andre Agassi even refused to take part in the tournament, but in the end, his ambition to be one of the greatest tennis players brought him back to the courts in London and he won the title in 1992. Strawberries and cream are another part of Wimbledon’s atmosphere from the very beginning in 1877. Opinions differ on what is the reason for the popularity of the special dessert, but the important thing is that we could not imagine the event without the huge number of bowls of strawberries served each year.

Tournament Structure and Popular Bet Types

Traditionally, Wimbledon singles winners receive 2,000 points for the world rankings and players who complete their participation in the first round add only 10. The total prize pool varies over the years, amounting to £35,016,000 in 2021. The immense popularity of Wimbledon and its typical Grand Slam scheme contribute to online punters having the full range of tennis betting markets at their disposal. Only the opening round in the singles (ladies and gentlemen) consists of 128 matches, imagine what an ocean of possibilities this is.

A few days after the end of the tournament, online bookmakers start accepting bets on who will win its next edition. Do not rush, however, you never know when someone like Carlos Alcaraz will appear to mess up everyone’s plans. The names of the four semi-finalists are usually on the list of favorites, accompanied by some other well-performing tennis players. Odds of winning are usually presented like this:

As you can see, the numbers related to a particular athlete sometimes differ significantly, so it is a good idea to set up accounts with several trusted online sportsbooks and place your wagers with the one that currently provides the most profitable tennis betting odds.

This type of Wimbledon betting affects the specific matches themselves, not the entire tournament. To win a match, a player or a double must have won the majority of the corresponding number of sets in the match (3 out of 5 for men and 2 out of 3 for women). H2H, current ranking, and performance on that particular court surface are among the factors punters need to take into consideration.

In most Wimbledon matches, especially in the first week, there are clear favorites and underdogs with almost zero probability of winning. Although such betting events carry an extremely low level of risk, they do not bring any noteworthy profit to punters. In this case, it is usually much more advantageous to practice tennis handicap betting. Sportsbooks that support this betting market set a game or set handicap and you need to predict if a certain player will win or lose by the specified threshold.

Basic Wimbledon Betting Tips

Despite some changes over the years, grass is still considered the fastest of all court surfaces and betting enthusiasts must always keep this fact in mind. The 100 percent ryegrass increases the speed of the ball and makes it bounce slightly lower than clay and hard courts. In the past, serve and volley players have had an undeniable advantage over their competitors but this is no longer the case. It is of utmost importance to know players’ game style very well and place your wagers on those who not only have a powerful and well-directed serve but are capable of holding their service games. On grass, well-balanced aggression and courage to play close to the net are a winning approach, so look for such players.

Pay attention to the statistics, but the right statistics. Nowadays, the grass season is getting shorter because a small number of tournaments choose to maintain this surface. No matter if it is about head-to-head matches or overall wins/losses statistics, we advise you to focus on events immediately preceding Wimbledon such as the Queen’s Club Championships and Rothesay International Eastbourne. These two events are conducted a few days before the start of the third Grand Slam of the year and are a great opportunity for punters to see if players feel confident while performing on grass.

Wimbledon’s draw is not randomly compiled, so it is highly recommended that you pay attention to it when making your tennis betting predictions. This Grand Slam is a long-running tennis tournament that can be exhausting for the best players who manage to reach its final stages. Therefore, the path to the final match is a factor that you should never ignore. It is true that the scheme of such tournaments is so arranged that in the opening rounds top tennis players usually face opponents with much fewer points in the rankings. Sometimes, however, these low-ranked competitors turn out to be difficult to beat on grass, especially if they can boast of a strong serve. Even if they fail to surprise by defeating a favorite, they certainly tire out their rivals, and this inevitably affects the game in subsequent matches.

We will end this part of our tennis betting guide with a tip, which applies mainly to the ladies’ part of the tournament – do not blindly rely on the current world rankings. In the last ten years, the only No.1s to win the title in London were Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty. In the other recent editions of the major tennis event, we have witnessed a surprise winner with probably the most striking case being Marion Bartoli, who beat everyone in 2013, although she was only in 15th place by that time.

Conclusion

The sense of royalty, even in modern and high-tech times like today, has made many professionals and ordinary sports fans describe Wimbledon as the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. To be honest, we are one of them. The courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are just steeped in history but at the same time show us present-time tennis of the highest level. Add to that the wide variety of betting markets and the enhanced odds online bookmakers offer, and you will find out why the tournament is a preferred sports event to bet on.