What are the ways to save your bet in the event of a forfeit?

sports bet forfeit

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Increasingly popular with punters, tennis is one of the most widely bet individual sports in the world. And when you consider the dozens of interesting tournaments throughout the year and the great matches that are played practically every week, it's easy to see it is so popular with the betting public. Whether on the ATP (men's) or WTA (women's) circuit, on a hard court, clay or grass, bookmakers are constantly coming up with enticing bets to try. That's why, for each tournament, our tennis specialists share their predictions with you, free of charge.

However, the unpredictable nature of the sport and the succession of matches played by both men and women can sometimes lead to players dropping out. Perhaps you're looking to get into tennis betting but are afraid of what the outcome might mean for your bets? Don't worry, on this page we'll explain everything that happens to your sports bets when a player forfeits a match.

Forfeit by a player: refund of your bet?

The principle is simple: if a player you bet on drops out, either before the start of the match (referred to as a “walkover”) or during the match, your bet will be refunded in all cases. This is explained quite clearly in the rules of online bookmakers such as Unibet: "A tennis match is deemed to have started after the first serve.

In the event that a match is interrupted before its end due to a withdrawal or disqualification, all bets on the match will be considered void, unless the result of a particular bet is already known (for example, on the "winner of the first set" bet if the match is interrupted in the second set)". You now understand that your bet on the winner of the match will be refunded if one of the two players drops out during the match.

Let's say you have bet €100 on Matteo Berrettini to beat Daniil Medvedev, and the Italian gets injured (which is not uncommon) and withdraws. In this situation, you'll get your bet back. Similarly, if it is the opponent who withdraws, in this case Medvedev, your sports betting site will cancel the bet and refund you. However, if you bet on the winner of the first set and the withdrawal occurs in the second set, the bet will be counted as either a winner or a loser. 

The specific case of combination bets

If you have placed a combination bet, the principle remains the same but there is a small difference. Only the selection linked to the match where a player has withdrawn is cancelled, and the odds on the selection are reduced to 1.00. The other bets in the combination therefore remain valid, and the total odds for the combination are calculated by multiplying the odds for each selection, with the exception of the match in which the player withdrew.

  • For example, if your combination includes 3 selections at odds of 2.00, your total basic odds will be 8.00 (2.00*2.00*2.00). If a player drops out of one of the 3 matches, the combination remains valid but one of the odds at 2.00 is skipped and the new combination odds rise to 4.00 (2.00*2.00).

In a nutshell

In the end, here's what you need to remember if a tennis player forfeits:

  1. The player forfeits before the match (walkover): your bet is refunded
  2. The player forfeits during the match: your bet is refunded
  3. If your bet was already complete before a forfeit: the bet is valid
  4. If you placed a combination bet, the odds on the player who withdrew are excluded from the bet.

In conclusion, you don't need to worry about a player getting injured when analysing a tennis match. However, if you're thinking of betting live on a player who is showing signs of injury, it's best not to, as he could still finish the match, even if injured, out of pride.

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