What Is Total Games In Tennis Betting?
Written by
Joe - Poker PlayerLast updated:
January 31, 2024
Tennis is a fast-paced, exciting sport where the momentum can shift in an instant. This volatility and drama make wagering on every serve, volley, and match point even more exciting. Given the number of tennis matches and tournaments taking place on a daily and seasonal basis, tennis enthusiasts have plenty of options to bet on. From match winner, point spreads, and futures to totals, the betting pool is wide open. Betting on totals involves wagering on the total number of something happening in a given match or tournament. For example, betting on tennis total games means you wager on the total number of games taking place in a match. But what are games? Is the tennis totals market limited to the number of games? How does tennis totals betting work? Read on to find out the answers to these questions and more regarding the tennis totals betting market.
Tennis Basic Rules: What Are Games In A Tennis Match?
A quick recap of general tennis scoring before moving into betting details. Every tennis match involves points, games, and sets. In order to win a match, a tennis player must win two sets. To win each set, the player must win six games, and four points are required to win each game. The four points are known as love or zero, 15, 30, 40, and game. In general, there are 2 to 3 sets in every tennis match and six games. If two players are tied at 40-40 in a game, the game continues until either player wins by two points.
If you are new to the sport and not sure how the scoring system works, we recommend checking our ultimate guide to tennis betting before delving into the total games betting market.
Tennis Total Betting Odds And Payouts Made Simple
Unlike the match winner market, where you must predict who will win the match, to bet on tennis totals, you should decide whether the match will be close. To help you better understand the concept, we will cover the three common total tennis betting options below.
1. Tennis Game Total
One of the popular ways to bet on tennis matches and tournaments is games total or Over/Under. In this betting type, you should predict whether there will be fewer or more games than the number that a bookmaker sets. If you think the match will be lengthy, you bet over, and if you think otherwise, you bet under.
Here is an example to practice how the game total odds and payouts work:
A best-of-three match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s over/under odds are set:
Over 22.5 Games: -120
Under 22.5 Games: +100
If you think there will be more than 22 games in this match, you should bet on over. Otherwise, you should bet under.
Total games in tennis betting involves predicting how many games will be in a given tennis match.
The game total is a great betting option, especially in matchups between two big servers like Ivo Karlovic and Nick Kyrgios, where predicting the winner of the match is pretty difficult. But both players will definitely force those ‘breakers’, making betting on over a better strategy than under. Tiebreakers are your golden tickets as an over bettor.
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2. Player Game Total
This tennis betting market is a bit tricky and requires your in-depth knowledge of each player, their skills, performance, and stats. Because to bet on a player game total, you should predict an individual player’s game total. Why should you risk and bet on a player’s sole performance? Because when you are confident in a player’s performance and know they can play close but won’t win a whole set, betting on their total games is smart. Another reason is when you see a player is competitive throughout the course of that match but cannot break through to win a set. In this case, it is best to bet on the player’s game total.
3. Set Total
The set total is very similar to the games total and a lot easier to track than the player game total. Game totals involve a lot bigger numbers than set totals. In this type of tennis betting, you bet on the final score in sets of a match. For example, in a best-of-three match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Betonline sportsbook sets the following odds:
| Player | Set | Odds |
| Novak Djokovic | Over 2.5 / Under 2.5 | +800 / +1200 |
| Rafael Nadal | Over 2.5 / Under 2.5 | +500 / +1500 |
Now, suppose you bet on Nadal over 2.5, which means he must win at least both first sets out of 3. If he does, your $100 wager will pay out $1,500 plus your initial $100 stake. Similarly, if you bet on Novak under 2.5 and he wins only one or two sets, your $100 bet will pay out $800 plus your initial wager.
At majors like Wimbledon, where matches are played in a best-of-five format, things would be a little more difficult, but the premise stays the same. In such cases, you must predict whether the match will end in three, four, or five sets. If you think the match will be lengthy, you bet over 4.5 sets total. Otherwise, you bet under.
Remember, over 4.5 sets total rarely will be the outcome. For this reason, the payouts may be tempting. Make sure to bet on this option if you are pretty much sure about the outcome. The most common outcome in majors is 3.5 sets total.
Wrap-Up: Should You Bet On Total Games In Tennis?
Yes. Betting on games total is both fun and wise. When watching matchups between two big servers and pros where predicting the match winner seems tricky, betting on games, sets, or player game total would be rewarding.
Matches between players like Isner or Opelka probably mean many tiebreakers. Tiebreaks add lots of quick games. More tiebreaks make going “over” total games smart. On the other hand, offensive players, lots of aces/service winners, and blowout sets make “under” a better choice to bet on game totals.
In the end, pay attention to playing styles. Offense or defense? Do big servers play tiebreak specialists? Then, make the smart bet. Total games offer good betting value overall.
