What Is A Walkover In Tennis? How Does A Walkover Affect Your Tennis Bet?

In this article, we walk you through the common tennis betting question and what is a walkover in tennis and how it affects your tennis bet! Find free tennis betting picks all year long at WagerTalk!

In any sport, injuries and illnesses can occur at any time and force players out of competition.

When this happens in tennis, it results in what’s called a walkover—a situation where one player has withdrawn from the match before it even begins or during play without completing all necessary sets.

In these cases, no points are awarded and instead the match is forfeited, and the other player wins by default.

This means that, for sports betting purposes, a walkover can drastically change the odds of a match or even force an outright cancellation of bets depending on when it occurs.

In Tennis, What Does A Walkover Mean and How Does A Walkover Affect Sports Betting?

For sports betting customers, it's important to understand the concept of a walkover and how it can affect odds and payouts. Walkovers are not uncommon in tennis, so it's in the customer's interest to stay up to date on any injuries or illnesses that may occur during a tournament.

It also helps to understanding of the house rules from each sportsbook operator around walkovers, as there is no universal ruling in terms of payouts and graded wagers.

What is a Walkover in Tennis? Know The Details To Avoid Losing Your Tennis Bet From a Walkover!

For a quick example, some tournaments require players to complete at least one set before a walkover is declared while others allow for immediate forfeits if both players agree.

Knowing these details can help customers make more informed wagers, avoid costly losses due to unexpected withdrawals from matches and overall customer happiness where they do not have to reach out to customer service on why they are confused if a wager is graded a certain way.

For a more in-depth example, having a money line wager for a tennis match that happens to result in a walkover can have multiple possible results in terms of grading wagers. A money line wager can be graded based on first ball, one set, two sets, or full match.

What is a Walkover in Tennis – Read the Fine Print On Tennis Betting!

Wagers on the full match over/under totals wagers are slightly more customer friendly for the most part. These are customer friendly because normally a full match over/under totals wager will be void and the customer will receive their wager stake back, but on the off chance the customer reaches the over before the walkover, they 'should' be paid out on the action.

'Should' in quotes, because again, it is important to know each sportsbook operator house rules before diving in tennis wagering. Although there is a consensus for something things, this is where house rules between sportsbook operators can vary.

For example, if a customer wagers that a match will go over 18 total games and someone retires at 7-5, 5-3, most legalized sportsbook operators will grade totals on that match as action since the outcome was already decided.

Famous/Notable Tennis Walkovers

There have been famous or notable walkovers in tennis, mainly tying into a championship match of a big-name or major tournament, such as the French Open. In 1987 at the French Open, Ivan Lendl was awarded the victory in the final against Mats Wilander after Wilander was forced to withdraw due to an injury. In this case, Lendl was awarded the trophy and the prize money without having to play a single point in the final.

Djokovic Walkover

Another well-known example of a walkover in tennis occurred at the French Open in 2019, when Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from his semifinal match against Austrian player Dominic Thiem due to injury.

As a result, Thiem won the match by default and advanced to the finals where he eventually took home the title. This and all other walkovers make it crucial to understand what is a walkover in tennis when you’re betting.

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