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Wimbledon 2020 Betting Guide

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Grand Slam tournaments are the most prestigious competitions in the tennis universe. And if you’re wondering which of the four Grand Slams stands above the rest, it’s Wimbledon. Since the late 19th century, the word Wimbledon has been synonymous with elite tennis. You can be sure that every tennis player in the world dreams of becoming the champion of Wimbledon.

This is the tennis tournament with the longest tradition, stretching all the way back to 1877. It’s also one of the tournaments that get the most public attention. About 40,000 spectators are on the grounds of Wimbledon during every match, while hundreds of millions of people watch it on TV.  

Wimbledon is also very popular among sports bettors as this tournament is a unique opportunity for them to make big profits. The Championships, Wimbledon, as this tournament is officially called, attracts the very best players in the world, each of whom are super-motivated to win every single match. What this means for bettors is that favorites win most of the time. Backing big-name tennis players is a sure way of making money off Wimbledon betting.

Wimbledon Tennis Odds

About the Championships

Wimbledon is the world’s oldest tennis tournament, having started four years before the US Open, 14 years before the French Open, and 28 years before the Australian Open. And it’s also one of the most lucrative tennis tournaments on the planet. Although its prize money pool is not as big as the one at the US Open, the players definitely have a lot of money to compete for.

But, it’s not just about the money; it’s also about the 2000 points the players will get, which can launch them skywards on the ATP/WTA list. But, even that is not the biggest motivation for the players to win Wimbledon. What really gets them going is the fame associated with this tournament.

With millions of people watching live broadcasts on TV and internet and tens of thousands watching it from the stands, Wimbledon is among the most prestigious sports events on the planet. And that’s enough of motivation for the players to give their utmost in every single match on the tournament.

As its name suggests, the tournament is taking place in the Wimbledon neighborhood of the UK capital. The complex of tennis courts where Wimbledon is taking place is called the All England Club. All the tennis courts in this complex use grass as the surface. That makes Wimbledon the only Grand Slam tournament that’s played on grass.

Wimbledon is a summer event, taking place over the course of two weeks, starting late June. Actually, tradition is that the tournament starts on the last Monday in June every year. As you can already see on the official Wimbledon website, the 2020 tournament will start on June 28, 2020.

The finals of the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles Championships take place at the end on the second week of the tournament, on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Notice that we used the words ‘ladies and gentlemen’? It is because that is how women’s and men’s championships are called at this tournament. Apart from the Ladies’ Singles and Gentlemen’s Singles, there are three other main events, namely Gentlemen’s Doubles, Ladies’ Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

Wimbledon also organizes junior championships in the following categories – Boys’ Singles, Girls’ Singles, Boys’ Doubles, and Girls’ Doubles. There are also some invitational events, such as those where wheelchair players compete.

Payout Structure

Same as most other tennis tournaments, Wimbledon also started out as an amateur competition, without any money prizes. But, that changed in 1968, when the organizers of the tournament decided to let professional players take part for the first time. Hence, that year marks the beginning of the so-called Open era of Wimbledon.

The first winner of Open-era Wimbledon was an Australian player called Rod Laver. For his achievement, Laver was awarded a monetary prize of 2,000 British pounds. In today’s money, that amount equals to 26,150 pounds, which is about 33,000 dollars.

Over the years, the prizes have increased greatly. Novak Djokovic, for example, received a £2,350,000.00 prize for winning Wimbledon 2019, which is almost three million dollars! The exact same amount went to the winner of Ladies’ Singles Championship, Simona Halep. This is because since 2007, Wimbledon is a tournament with equal prize money for men and women.

Brackets

There are 128 players competing in the Gentlemen’s Singles Championship. The exact same number of women players competing in the Ladies’ Singles Championship. Matches in these two categories are played in the form of best-of-five sets. What this means is that in order to win the match, a player needs to get to three set wins before their opponent. The maximum number of sets that can be played in a match is five, meaning that the result can be 3:0, 3:1, or 3:2.

If the score in a set is 6-6, a tiebreaker is played to decide the winner of the set. The only exception to this rule is the final set in the match. In the case of a 6-all score at 2-2 in sets, the match winner is the one who reaches a two-game lead.

In Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Singles, there are four preliminary rounds (called first, second, third, and fourth), after which are the quarterfinals, semis, and the final. What this practically means is that the two finalists have to play a total of seven matches on the tournament.

The Wimbledon brackets are done in a way that the world’s best-ranked players get to stay in the tournament longer. Those who are near the top of the ATP/WTA table will play against the biggest underdogs on the tournament in the first round. This way, as the tournament goes forward, the matches are getting more and more interesting.

Biggest Historical Milestones

Considering that this is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, it’s not surprising that Wimbledon was the stage for some of the greatest moments in the history of the sport. And we’re now going to talk about some of them.

1969 Wimbledon – The Longest Tennis Match in History

The match between Richard ‘Pancho’ Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell is the longest match in the history of the tournament to that point. Lasting for five hours and 12 minutes over the course of two days, this match is also one of the longest in the entire tennis history.

2010 Wimbledon – John Isner Wins a 70-68 Set

Before 2019, the rule was that if the score is 6-all in the final set of the match, the winner is decided not by tiebreaker but by playing until someone makes a two-game difference. And in 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played a set that finished 70-68 in Isner’s favor after 11 hours of play.

1996 Wimbledon – Rain (Almost) Ruins Everything

Wimbledon is played in England, a country famous for many rainy days throughout the year. And one such day happened at Wimbledon 1996, when the matches had to be abandoned due to bad weather conditions. But, then Cliff Richards stepped in and saved the day. No, he didn’t play, he entertained the audience by singing some of his biggest hits.

Although Cliff Richard’s sopping-wet performance at the 1996 Wimbledon was an event to remember, the tournament organizers decided to find a solution for rain problems. And in 2009, the solution came in the form of a retractable roof. So, if the rain starts pouring, the organizers can simply press the button and cover the entire court.

2008 Wimbledon – Sibling Rivalry Takes a Turn

Serena Williams is one of the greatest players in the history of women’s tennis, who’s won the Wimbledon on seven occasions. And on three occasions she beat her sister Venus in the final. She did it in 2002, 2003, and 2009. Still, in 2008, Venus beat her his in the final, winning her fifth (and last) Ladies’ Singles Championship.

Betting on Wimbledon

Although there were plenty of interesting moments in the history of Wimbledon, the fact is that favorites are the ones who win against underdogs most of the time. And we really mean most of the time. Wimbledon is not the place for big upsets, which is something that bettors love the most about this tourney.

Betting on the favorite usually means that you’re not getting too long odds. In fact, they’re probably pretty short. In order to get decent profits, you need to bet a lot of money, which can be risky. The good news is that the risk is very low when betting on favorites at Wimbledon.

The rule of thumb is that by betting on the players who are ranked high on the ATP/WTA list, you’re almost certain to win. Of course, this is only true in cases when the high-ranked players are playing against low-ranked players. Such scenarios happen in the early stages of the tournament, but as it progresses, the matches get more difficult to predict.

The good news is that the odds go up as well, meaning that the money-making potential is getting better as Wimbledon goes on. The best thing is that making the right picks in the later stages of the tournament is not that hard. You can use the players’ performances from the first few rounds of the tournament as guidelines to making winning bets.

Future Bets

The odds on the winner of the tournament are the highest before the beginning of the tournament. In fact, the earlier you bet on this market, the better the odds you’re going to get. And it’s pretty obvious why this is the case – before the start of Championships, it’s not clear who the biggest favorite is.

But, if you think you can guess who’s going to become the next Wimbledon champion, why not bet on it? That kind of future bet is guaranteed to bring a lot of money your way. Of course, under the condition that your prediction actually comes true.

Match Winner

The match winner is the most popular of all Wimbledon betting lines. The reason is that it’s simple – you just need to back the player you think is going to win the match. As there are hundreds of matches to choose from, this betting market can bring you a lot of money.

Early on in the tournament, the odds on favorites are going to be pretty short, considering that they’re playing against big underdogs. This is why many bettors decide to spice the things up by switching from the match winner market to handicap betting.

How handicap betting works is that you bet that the favorite will cover the set handicap given by the sportsbook. The handicap is usually -2.5 sets, meaning that the favorite needs to win the match by 3-0 in sets. Likewise, if you’re backing the underdog, he/she needs to win at least one set. Even if they end up losing 3-1, your bet will be a winning one. It’s because the final score in the bookies’ eyes will be 3.5-3 for the underdog.

Total Number of Games/Sets

Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles Championships are best-of-five sets matches. The same is the case with Gentlemen’s’ Doubles, while Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles matches can have a maximum of three sets.

That said, you can bet on how many sets will be in the match. You can bet on the exact number of sets or go for the Over/Under option. Sets O/U is one of the most popular Wimbledon betting lines, in which you get to pick whether the total number of higher or lower than the margin set up by the sportsbook, e.g. 3.5 sets. Likewise, you can bet on the total number of games, as well as games Over/Under.

Live Betting

When it comes to Wimbledon betting, a great idea is to do it live. What we’re talking about is live betting, which lets you place bets on the match that’s already started. This way, you can see what’s going on on the court and make your betting decision based on that.

A great thing about live betting is that the odds change depending on how the players are performing. So, if the favorite is losing, the odds on that player are bound to go up. But, this doesn’t mean he or she is necessarily going to lose. In fact, in most cases, the favorite does manage to turn the match around to their favor. Betting on the favorite who’s losing could prove to be the right move.

Wimbledon Props (Proposition Bets)

For the duration of two weeks in early summer, Wimbledon is the capital of the sporting world. The eyes of sports fans are set on the courts of Wimbledon where elite tennis players are pitted against each other. Being such a grand event, Wimbledon is more than just another tourney. And exactly that is the reason why many sportsbooks offer Wimbledon prop bets, that is, those bets that don’t have much to do with what’s happening on the court.   

To give you an idea about what kind of props you can bet on, here are a few examples:

  • How many tons of strawberries and cream are going to be consumed at Wimbledon 2020?
  • Will there be a need to put on the roof over the Centre Court?
  • Which artist is going to sing at the opening ceremony?
  • How many members of the British Royal Family are going to attend the final?

If you’re feeling creative, you can come up with your own proposition bets. There are many sportsbooks out there that will gladly listen to your suggestions. And if they like your idea, they will offer you’re their odds.

Betting on Wimbledon 2020

When does Wimbledon 2020 start? Monday, June 29, 2020, is the day when the opening ceremony will be held and when the first matches of the tournament will be played. Over the course of two weeks, the very best players will compete for the trophy in five different categories, including Gentlemen’s Singles and Ladies’ Singles.

The winners of those two championships will receive the money prize of £2.35m (about $3M), as well as additional 2000 points in the ATP and WTA rankings. On top of everything, they will get their names written in the history of one of the biggest sports events in the world. Plenty of reasons for elite tennis players to give their best in order to challenge the title.  

Players to Watch in 2020

Historia est Magistra Vitae – history is life’s teacher. And if you take a look at the history of Wimbledon, you will see that the titles have always been won by the players from the top of the ATP/WTA table.

Common sense tells us that the best-ranked ladies and gentlemen on their respective lists are going to be the biggest title contenders at Wimbledon 2020. So, which players are we talking about?

  • Roger Federer – The Swiss legend has been somewhere near the summit of the ATP list for ages. During his incredibly illustrious professional career, he has won eight Wimbledon Championships, thus setting an all-time record. For Federer, Wimbledon has a special place in his heart, which is why he’s hinted that he plans to retire after the 2020 tournament. And what better way to go out in style than to win his ninth Wimbledon trophy!
  • Novak Djokovic – The reigning champion on Wimbledon’s Gentlemen’s Singles Championship, Djokovic is the number one favorite for winning another one. If he manages to do it, it’s going to be his third consecutive Wimbledon title.
  • Rafael Nadal – Although he’s much more comfortable when playing on clay than on grass, Rafael Nadal did manage to win Wimbledon on two occasions. And considering how brilliant he has been for the past couple of months, it’s no surprise he’s among the biggest favorites.
  • Serena Williams – When it comes to Ladies’ Singles, Serena Williams is an absolute favorite. She’s won it seven times already, the last being in 2016. And in the last two tourneys, she reached the final, losing to Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep respectively. As we all know Serena hates losing, you can expect her giving her utmost at Wimbledon 2020.
  • Simona Halep – Serena’s biggest rival in the battle for Wimbledon 2020 trophy is Simona Halep, the reigning champion of the Ladies’ Singles Championship. Ten years younger than Serena, Simona is determined not to let the Wimbledon 2019 title stay the only she’s won.

When it comes to Doubles, the Bryan Twins are the ones to watch out for in men’s category. In Ladies’ Doubles, players from Czech Republic are expected to be in the spotlight. Four Czech players have reached the final in the last two tournaments.

Where to Bet on Wimbledon Matches

If a sportsbook has tennis in its betting offer, you can be sure Wimbledon 2020 events are going to be included. Not only is Wimbledon a regular feature in almost all sportsbooks, but many of them are giving special bonuses and other promos in order to celebrate the world’s most iconic tennis tournament.

Simply offering good bonus deals is not enough; the sportsbook you pick to bet on Wimbledon needs to fulfill many other criteria. It needs to have a valid license and be legal in the place you’re coming from. It also needs to offer competitive odds, especially when tennis markets are concerned. The sportsbook also must have a good record when payouts are concerned, with zero user complaints.

So, how are you supposed to find one such sportsbook? With the help of Vegas Odds, you can do it easily! Simply pick one of the online sportsbooks recommended by us and we guarantee you won’t regret your choice!

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