Tennis 101: Breaking down the DFS basics

Welcome to Tennis 101, where I will go over some of the basics of DFS Tennis for those who aren’t familiar with the product or, perhaps, are simply looking for a refresher.

Tennis Basics

Tennis is a unique game with tricky scoring. In a singles match, there'll be one player serving and the other returning. The first to accumulate four points (without going to deuce) wins the “game.” If the game goes to deuce (40-40), then a player needs to win two straight points to win the game. Whoever wins the first point when at deuce, then has “advantage.” If the player with advantage then loses the next point, we go back to deuce. Service games alternate throughout the match. Generally, the first player to win six games wins the “set”, but winning a set is win-by-two. If a set is tied 6-6 apiece, a tiebreak game is played to determine the winner of the set. In tiebreakers, the first to seven points (also must win by two) wins the game, and therefore the set. To comply with alternating serves in the tiebreak, the player who did not serve the game prior to the tiebreaker will start with one service point, and then the players will alternate with two service points for the remainder of the tiebreak. For most tournaments, we play best of three sets, with the exception being the men in grand slams, who play best of five. 

Tournaments

Each week, there are multiple tournaments across both the ATP (Men) and WTA (Women) Tours, which are designated by different levels. On the ATP side, there are Masters 1000, 500, and 250 level tournaments. Basically, the number signifies the points awarded to the champion. The higher the number, the bigger the event, and thereby the better the field will be. On the WTA side, they go by Premier Mandatory, Premier 5, Premier, and International. Points distribution is different on both tours. Of course, there are also the four grand slams each year, where both tours play simultaneously.

Rosters/Player Pool

Both DraftKings and FanDuel offer DFS Tennis, with both sites requiring a six-player lineup where you can choose six men and/or women, or a mix of both, depending on the pool of players. Depending on how many tournaments are going on, and which round(s) the tournaments are in will ultimately determine the size of the player pool to choose from. In grand slams, you’ll usually see up to 50 matches on a slate early on, whereas on a random Monday with three or four tournaments beginning, you may see only 20.

Scoring

Both sites use different scoring formats, and in fact, use two separate scoring systems, one of which is designed for the men in grand slams for best of five scoring. Let’s take a look at the breakdown:

DraftKings (Best of 3)

• Match Played: 30 Points
• Games Won: +2.5 Points
• Games Lost: -2 Points
• Sets Won: +6 Points
• Sets Lost -3 Points
• Match Won: +6 Points
• Aces: +0.4 Points
• Double Faults: -1 Point
• Breaks: +0.75 Points (Win the opposing player's service game)
• Clean Set Bonus: +4 Points (Win a set 6-0)
• Straight Set Bonus: +6 Points (Win the match without losing a set)
• No Double Fault Bonus: +2.5 Points
• 10+ Aces Bonus: +2 Points

DraftKings (Best of 5)

• Match Played: 30 Points
• Games Won: +2 Points
• Games Lost: -1.6 Points
• Sets Won: +5 Points
• Sets Lost -2.5 Points
• Match Won: +5 Points
• Aces: +0.25 Points
• Double Faults: -1 Point
• Breaks: +0.5 Points 
• Clean Set Bonus: +2.5 Points 
• Straight Set Bonus: +5 Points 
• No Double Fault Bonus: +5 Points
• 15+ Aces Bonus: +2 Points

FanDuel (Best of 3)

• Match Played: 60 Points
• Games Won: +6 Points
• Games Lost: -4.8 Points
• Sets Won: +12 Points
• Sets Lost -6 Points
• Match Won: +12 Points
• Aces: +1 Point
• Double Faults: -2 Points
• Breaks: +1.5 Points
• Straight Set Win: +12 Points
• Clean Set: +10 Points

FanDuel (Best of 5)

• Match Played: 60 Points
• Games Won: +4 Points
• Games Lost: -3.2 Points
• Sets Won: +10 Points
• Sets Lost -5 Points
• Match Won: +10 Points
• Aces: +0.6 Points
• Double Faults: -1 Point
• Breaks: 1 Point
• Straight Set Win: +10 Points
• Clean Set: +7 Points

Roster Construction

The trickiest part of any DFS Sport. In Tennis, pricing is largely based on Vegas odds, so finding value can be difficult, as the best value options will generally be underdogs per Vegas, and if you spend up on one of the more expensive options, you’ll need multiple low priced players to come in below the $50K salary cap. My general take is you don’t necessarily need to spend $11K+ on one individual player, as the ceiling is generally capped around the same number for every player. Of course, matchups can dictate a greater likelihood of reaching said ceiling, but because everyone needs to win the same number of games and sets, you won’t find a James Harden-like scorer in tennis. 

What To Avoid

Stacking is a big no-no in DFS tennis. With the loss of points off games/sets lost, you’re doing yourself a disservice in taking both sides of one match, as you want six wins in your lineup(s)

Players who double fault at a high rate should be avoided. Double faults can not only hurt one's ceiling, but also one's floor as well. For example, a player who wins a best of three match in three close sets might score 50 points, but if they double fault 10+ times, he/she may actually score fewer points than his/her opponent. It is rare, but it has happened before. 

Lastly, don’t overvalue Vegas odds. Yes, they can be important, but they aren’t quite as important as they are in other sports. Rather than specifically looking at moneylines, I would rather factor totals and spreads when correlating odds to lineups.