Knowing all the terms and rules of sports betting is something that can help you, and you don’t know how far it is on your side until you need it. In the case of knowing what the walkover means in sports betting (especially tennis) it is no exception. Let’s see what it is!
Walkover, in bets, refers to the withdrawal of one of the participants, either a team or an athlete, causing their rival to pass the round. Generally, we find the walkover in tennis bets or in individual sports, since it is where it is most common for them to happen, but they can occur in different sports disciplines (and there are several examples).
How is a walkover different from a withdrawal? We will specifically talk about Walkover when an athlete or team leaves before the event takes place, not during it. For this term to be coined, the event should not have started to be played. In this way, the rival would do a walkover and pass the round.
Walkover: What about the bets?
The results will be different depending on the bookmaker, but the Sportium tennis walkover has a very specific resolution. When a tennis player retires before starting, the bet will be declared null or void, with one exception, if the event takes place in the following 168 hours (7 days) after the scheduled date and time.
The walkover in the bets will remain in force as annulment if it has been played until the first set. The exception would occur in the case of long-term betting. For example, if Djokovic withdraws from Roland Garros, any forecast to win the tournament would be considered valid.
How to prevent the walkover from ruining your tennis bets
If you want to avoid being surprised by these cases, you always have to be up to date with the latest news, such as the tennis player’s moment of form in the very short term. Here statistics and long-term data are not valid. On the other hand, it is very relevant to consult psychological aspects of the participants, as well as to be up to date with the press.
But beyond a possible walkover, you should not place bets on those markets that you do not follow on a recurring basis.
Walkover in tennis and other sports: Latest cases
One of the most recent cases of walkover in tennis was that of Novak Djokovic, who passed the round at the Mutua Open in Madrid due to the absence of his rival Andy Murray due to indisposition. In this case, a bet on Djokovic on the money line for the match would have been void, but a bet on the winner of the match tournament would have been cashed or lost.
Recent examples of walkover in betting:
October 2021: Muguruza accesses the final of the WTA 500 Chicago 2021 by walkover of her hypothetical rival Vondrousova.
March 2021: Roberto Bautista qualifies for the Miami open, without having made his tournament debut yet, due to the withdrawal of the South African Harris.
December 2001: Walkover from Deportivo, as Hospitalet resigned in protest at not being able to play in their own stadium.
April 2000: Barcelona refused to play a round of the Copa del Rey, due to not having enough players to coincide with an international day. Even so, the Catalans had lost 0-3 in the first leg.
The term walkover: where does it come from?
The origin of the term walkover lies in horse racing, in the United Kingdom. In that case, even if there was only one competitor left, he had to go around the track for the victory to be effective. The term walkover is collected from this journey through formalism.