Tennis retirements and walkovers: how often, when, and what happens to your bet
A retirement, when a player quits during a match, ends 3.3% of tennis matches, and a walkover before the match 0.6%. What happens to your bet then is down to the bookmaker's rules: in the terms of 16 licensed bookmakers we read, every one returned the stake on a match-winner bet, and only markets already decided, such as the winner of a completed first set, stood. We checked 1,758 retirements from 52,937 ATP, WTA and Challenger matches from 2024–2026. Half of them come in the second set, in almost half it is the favourite who quits, and on grass retirements are half as common as on hard courts.
Key takeaways
- The player who retired was ahead in sets in only 5% of cases, so under a void rule it is usually whoever backed the opponent who loses out: a refund instead of a win.
- Almost one retirement in six (17%) comes in the first set, and then even a bet on the first-set winner is void.
- The median number of games before a retirement is 13: a 22.5 line had already been passed in one retirement in six, and in the rest a total games bet is void.
- One of the 16 licensed bookmakers whose terms we read offers a separate match-winner market where a retirement brings no refund and the player who goes through wins.
Retirement, walkover and a postponed match
- Retirement ("ret." in the results): a player stops a match that has started, usually because of injury or illness. The opponent wins the match.
- Walkover ("w/o"): a player does not come out on court, so the match never starts and the opponent goes through.
- Cancelled or postponed match: the match is not played at its scheduled time, for example because of rain. That is a different situation with different rules (below), covered in our article on postponed and abandoned matches.
On the scoreboard a retirement and a walkover are simply a win for the opponent. For a bet they are two quite different things from an ordinary win. Other tennis terms, from a game to a tie-break, are explained in our tennis glossary.
What happens to your bet: the rule types
How a bet settles after a retirement is set by each bookmaker's terms, and rules can differ from one bookmaker to the next, so check your own bookmaker's tennis rules before you bet. We read the terms of 16 licensed bookmakers in one regulated European market (October 2026). They use the same few rule types:
- Match winner: void, stake returned (16 of 16). Every one of the 16 returned the stake on a match-winner bet when a player retired. It made no difference whether the first set had been completed, or that the match had started.
- Markets decided before the retirement: settled. The winner of a completed first set, the first-set score or a games line that had already been passed are settled as normal. Five of the 16 spell out "mathematically decided" bets, for example over 8.5 games at 4–3 in the first set.
- Everything else: void. A total games line not yet passed, the games handicap and set betting are refunded.
- A separate "retirement = no refund" market (1 of 16). One bookmaker also offers a second match-winner market on which a retirement brings no refund: what counts is who went through. Its standard match-winner market refunds the stake like the others.
- Walkover: void. The match was not played, so bets on it are cancelled.
- Accumulator: a void leg counts at odds of 1.00 and the rest of the slip plays on. The details are in our article on accumulator bets. In a system bet it counts at 1.00 in every combination.
Rules for a postponed tennis match vary far more: in the same survey the limit ranged from 96 hours, through "during the same tournament", to waiting for the official result with no time limit at all. The general principles are in our article on bet settlement rules.
How many games are played before a retirement? In our data the median is 13. An 18.5 games line had already been passed in one retirement in four, and 22.5 in one in six. In the other cases a total games bet is void.
How often players retire
We counted 52,937 singles matches from 2024–2026 that started (completed and ended by a retirement). Walkovers are counted separately, as a share of all scheduled matches.
| Competition | Matches | Retirement | Walkover |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATP | 11,087 | 2.98% | 0.58% |
| Challenger | 26,557 | 3.72% | 0.55% |
| WTA | 10,565 | 2.73% | 0.57% |
| WTA 125 | 4,728 | 3.19% | 0.55% |
| Total | 52,937 | 3.32% | 0.56% |
So roughly one match-winner bet in thirty ends with a retirement, which under a void rule means a refund. Lower-tier events (Challengers) have more retirements than the ATP and WTA.
Surface and time of year
| Surface | Matches | Retirement |
|---|---|---|
| Hard court | 27,309 | 3.49% |
| Clay | 21,815 | 3.37% |
| Grass | 3,813 | 1.86% |
On grass retirements are almost half as common as on hard courts. The calendar shows it too: the fewest retirements come in June (2.35%), during the grass season, and the most in February, March and August (3.8%), during the hard-court swings. More on how the surface changes tennis is in our article on tennis surfaces.
At ATP and WTA events the share of retirements has moved between 2.2% and 3.3% a year since 2015, with no clear trend. The highest was in 2025 (3.25%).
When players retire
| When the player retired | Share of retirements |
|---|---|
| during the 1st set | 17.0% |
| after the 1st set, before the 2nd | 8.8% |
| during the 2nd set | 50.1% |
| after the 2nd set, before the 3rd | 2.3% |
| during the 3rd set | 20.5% |
| later (best-of-five matches) | 1.4% |
Almost one retirement in six comes in the first set. Then even a bet on the first-set winner is void. In the other cases the first set has already been decided and a bet on it is settled. How first-set and set betting work is covered in our article on first set and set betting.
The player who retired was ahead in sets in only 5% of cases. In 39% the sets were level, and in 56% he or she was behind. So under a void rule the one who usually loses out on a retirement is whoever backed the opponent: in more than half the cases their player was ahead in sets, and instead of a win they get their stake back.
Do favourites retire more often?
In the 1,733 retirements for which we have odds, the favourite was the one who quit in 48.6% of cases, almost as often as the outsider. This is the chance of a retirement on each side by the favourite's odds:
| Favourite's odds | Matches | Favourite retires | Outsider retires | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.01–1.09 | 4,350 | 0.8% | 1.6% | 2.4% |
| 1.10–1.19 | 5,224 | 1.2% | 1.5% | 2.7% |
| 1.20–1.29 | 6,545 | 1.6% | 1.9% | 3.5% |
| 1.30–1.39 | 7,008 | 1.6% | 1.9% | 3.6% |
| 1.40–1.49 | 7,499 | 1.8% | 1.6% | 3.4% |
| 1.50–1.64 | 10,683 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 3.7% |
| 1.65–1.79 | 8,113 | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3.3% |
| 1.80–2.00 | 2,769 | 1.6% | 1.5% | 3.1% |
With a very clear favourite (odds up to 1.09) it is more often the outsider who retires, losing and seeing no way back. In even matches both sides retire equally often. A retirement is above all about health, not the score: you cannot predict it from the odds.
What to watch out for
- Outright bets have their own rules. In one bookmaker's terms we read, a player who withdraws during a tournament loses an outright bet on him (to win the tournament or reach a round), while a withdrawal before it starts means a refund.
- Retirements and surebets. When both bookmakers void the match-winner bet on a retirement, both sides of a surebet come back and nothing is lost. The risk is a mismatch of rules: if one side is on a market where the player who goes through wins and the other is void, a retirement leaves one side settled and the other refunded. A postponed match and different time limits for playing it remain a risk too.
- In-play bets. A medical time-out usually moves in-play odds sharply. Markets decided before a retirement are settled, so an in-play bet on the "next game" can lose even if the match ends a moment later.
- A retirement does not change the scoreboard. In a player's record the opponent's retirement is a win, even though a bet on him only returned the stake.
More numbers on tennis: tennis betting in numbers, tennis favourites and total games.
FAQ
What happens to a tennis bet if a player retires?
It depends on the bookmaker's rules. In the terms of all 16 licensed bookmakers we read, a match-winner bet was void and the stake returned. Markets decided before the retirement, such as the winner of a completed first set, were settled as normal. The exception was one bookmaker's separate "retirement = no refund" market, on which the player who goes through wins.
How often do players retire in tennis?
In 52,937 matches from 2024–2026 a retirement ended 3.32% of matches: 2.98% on the ATP, 2.73% on the WTA, 3.72% at Challengers and 3.19% at WTA 125 events. A walkover happened in 0.56% of matches.
Does a retirement count for total games bets?
Under the rules we surveyed, a total games bet is void unless the line had already been passed when the player retired. Then the over wins and the under loses. In our data the median number of games before a retirement is 13, and a 22.5 line had been passed in one retirement in six.
What is a walkover in tennis?
A walkover means a player did not come out on court and the match never started. The opponent goes through, and under the rules we surveyed bets on the match are cancelled and stakes returned. A walkover happens in about 0.6% of matches.
Does a first set bet stand if a player retires?
Yes, under the rules we surveyed, if the first set was completed before the retirement. In 17% of cases the player retires during the first set, and then a first-set bet is void too.
What happens to my accumulator if a tennis player retires?
If the bookmaker voids that leg, it counts at odds of 1.00 and the other legs play on. The slip does not lose, but its odds and potential return go down.