Second only to football in terms of popularity when it comes to betting worldwide, tennis offers multiple opportunities for those who have done their research to gamble and take on the bookies. There is a tennis match being played somewhere in the world, virtually every day and in every time zone, with tournaments taking place regularly, often several at the same time. That means that tennis bets run into the millions of dollars annually.

Whilst tennis has a number of tours, the “feeder” leagues like the Challenger and ITF Futures tours, and a thriving senior’s circuit, the two main tours are the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) for the female elite and the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) for their male equivalents.

When it comes to choosing a tennis betting strategy, the recommendation is to focus on the ATP events only. The reason for this is because the women’s tour is just so competitive and players closely matched; at least since Serena Williams took time out to have her baby daughter. Top ranked players like Halep, Wozniacki, Muguruza or Svitolina are vulnerable to the risk of being knocked out in the first or second round of a tournament. By way of illustration at this year’s Wimbledon, by the end of the first week, only one of the top 10 women’s seeds was still left in the tournament.

By contrast, in the men’s game, things are more predictable. Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal may lose a set or two in the early rounds, but, almost invariably, when you get to the semi-final or final stage, their names will almost always feature.

However, as tennis is really a sport where you are betting on individuals – there is little market for betting on doubles events – it is important to do your research on the players in question before you bet on a match. This involves far more than just their seedings or world rankings, which could be affected by factors like injury, loss of form, or if they have chosen to take a break from the game for any reason.

For example, you need to know if they specialise on a particular surface – Nadal is not known as the King of Clay for nothing, for example – but also if they are in form, are on their way back from injury, or if there are any other factor that can affect their game. Another consideration when making any sort of tennis bet is how two players perform against each other. Because players are all of a high standard, and anybody can beat anybody on their day, the mental element cannot be forgotten, especially when considering a tennis betting strategy. Look at the head-to-head record and see if one player consistently has the edge over the other.

One form of tennis betting that is popular is to betting on the results of four, five, or even more matches in a single combined, or accumulator bet.

However, a word to the wise about making such tennis bets. Experienced gamblers normally do not combine more than 3 such bets in one, because tennis is just not that predictable a sport. Even if you have hot favourites playing in all the matches in an accumulator, there is always the risk, particularly in the early rounds of a tournament, that they could have an off day, or their opponent find a rich vein of form suddenly. This is especially true when it comes to a non-Grand Slam event, played over the best of three, not five sets, because there is less time and opportunity to turn matters round.

ATP betting offers arrange of betting possibilities – betting on the winner, number of sets and games, points won, next point etc. However, as with any form of betting, do the research first and you will greatly enhance your chances of success.