How Sportsbooks Are Grading Wimbledon Futures After Berrettini, Cilic Forced Out Due to COVID
Clive Brunskill/Getty. Pictured: Matteo Berrettini.
Matteo Berrettini had been undefeated on grass this year and flying high heading into Wimbledon. But he won't get to see if his form was worthy of a championship.
The 26-year-old Italian withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday morning after testing positive for COVID.
Berrettini had been the second-shortest favorite across major sportsbooks to win his first-ever Grand Slam event.
The man with a wicked forehand and monster serve made the final last year before falling to fellow grass maestro Novak Djokovic, who won his fifth Wimbledon in seven years in the process.
News that Djokovic's main competition was forced out of the tournament sent the Serbian's odds downward. While he had opened as a roughly -120 favorite to win the gentlemen's singles tournament, those odds are now roughly -165 across the market.
Rafael Nadal, who would have had to play Berrettini in the semifinals, saw his odds move up from +700 to +600 without having played a match.
The news of Berrettini's withdrawal came a day after French Open semifinalist Marin Cilic was forced to exit after contracting the coronavirus, as well.
So, how are sportsbooks grading futures bets on the two players?
Berrettini's odds to win Wimbledon had opened at +1300 at FanDuel before plummeting to as short as +500 in the hours before the tournament on account of sharp action.
On Monday night, a Berrettini future ticket at +1300 could have been cashed out at a roughly 50% profit — before the Italian even stepped onto Centre Court.
While that profit is now gone, FanDuel has done the courtesy of refunding all Berrettini tickets, citing house rules that void all bets when a player has not participated in an event.
Those rules apply to any Cilic futures, too.
The same goes for DraftKings, spokesperson Stephen Miraglia said. DraftKings operates on the same structure as FanDuel with regards to futures.
A representative at BetMGM, John Ewing, said the bets would stand but didn't realize the players hadn't suited up for their first match.
Ewing said he expected all bets on Berrettini and Cilic would be refunded, but would confirm with MGM's trading team. As of publish, that has not yet been confirmed.
Representatives at PointsBet did not respond to requests for comment.
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