Is there anything more frustrating than a bet that’s in a winning position being curtailed by an abandonment, weather delay, player withdrawal or retirement?
It’s important to know what happens to your bets in these situations, because the rules differ from one sport to the next and even between bookmakers.
But, as a general guide, here’s what you can expect to happen when a tennis match you have bet on is ended prematurely due to one of the players retiring through injury or any other reason.
What are the Tennis Retirement Rules?
It’s confusing, but the different bookmakers have their own rules and procedures they follow when a player retires from a tennis match.
Typically, the vast majority will at the very least refund your stake when a game ends prematurely in this fashion. That can be a bonus if your player was losing at the time, but a source of frustration if your pick was winning.
Some bookies will pay out in situations where your player was winning at the time that the match came to an end, and other firms will pay you as a winner regardless of the score.
Although retirements in tennis are, relatively speaking, reasonably rare, it’s still worth knowing the rules of your chosen bookmaker when it comes to these scenarios – perhaps you would be better off switching to a firm that settles bets as winners when the opposition player to your pick retires from the game?
If you don’t know the rules you would never be aware that this was perhaps a good move, so swot up.
What Happens to My Tennis Bet When a Player Retires?
Generally speaking, a bookmaker will employ one of four different rules depending on their stance on retirements:
- Ball Served – In the case that even just a solitary point is played, bets will be settled depending on which player has retired. If it’s your pick that has called it a day, your bet will either be settled as a loss or voided and your stake returned. If it’s the opposition player that has retired, your bet will either be voided or settled as a winner.
- One Set Played – As the name suggests, in this scenario bets are settled as winners or losers if one set has been completed. You will lose if your player retires and win if it’s the other guy/gal that quits. If the match hasn’t had a completed set, all bets are voided and stakes refunded.
- Two Sets Played – Here we have the same scenario as above but where two sets need to be completed before bets are graded as winners or losers. This is relevant to best-of-three set matches that are 1-1, or after two sets in a best-of-five contest.
- Match Played – Some bookmakers don’t pay out on retirements at all, so if a player quits before the match is completed then all bets will be voided.
Remember, all bookies take their own unique stance on retirements, so you should examine their terms and conditions if you are a high volume tennis punter.
Other Tennis Betting Market Rules
It should be noted that the above applies to match winner bets, but there can be different rules for other tennis betting markets.
If you have bet on individual set scores, total sets, both players to win a set etc, these selections are typically voided in the event of a retirement.
The same applies to total games/aces/double faults betting too, unless your bet has already won at the time of the retirement, e.g. if you have bet on Novak Djokovic to hit five or more aces and he has done at the time of the match ending, then you will be settled as a winner and paid out in full as normal.
What Happens to My Tennis Acca If a Player Retires?
The rules we have outlined above apply to your accumulator bets as well.
So what happens to your acca when there’s a retirement depends on two main factors:
- a) the rules your bookie has implemented
- b) whether it’s your player or the opponent that has retired.
Your acca could be crushed if your player retires, it could live on if that selection is voided or that leg could be settled as a winner and you will be one step closer to a winning coupon.
What Happens to My Bet If a Player Retires During the Warm Up?
It’s a spectacular indignity – getting injured during the warm up, but it does actually happen.
Some bookmakers will deploy their usual player retirement rules as described as above, however others will consider this a ‘walkover’ for the non-injured player.
If a bookie settles a bet as a walkover, you will typically be graded as a winner or loser depending on whether it’s your player or the opponent that has retired before a ball has even been struck.
Tennis Retirement Insurance
Some bookmakers offer promotions that protect against retirements in tennis betting.
Called ‘insurance’ or ‘guarantees’, these will ensure you are paid out as a winner if the opposing player retires, and refunded if it’s your pick who quits.
You can find out more information about these on each bookmaker’s promotions page, although you should note that such a promo applies only to ATP and WTA Tour and grand slam matches.
Those matches that are a little more off the beaten track probably won’t benefit from these sorts of promotions since the bookies don’t see enough action from them.