Best Betting Offers UK 2021 | Betting Sites Sign Up Offers

Matched Betting is a process which allows you earn money from the free bets and deals offered by online bookmakers. Instead of relying on luck, you place a bet on both sides so that no matter the outcome you always win! Profit Accumulator’s Oddsmatching software will show you which bets to place and for how much, ensuring you make the maximum profit! If you would like to learn more about Matched Betting and how it works you will find everything you need in this guide.
How Does it Work (is it Easy)?
Matched Betting works by placing both back and lay bets, this technique allows the user to turn free bet credits into cash – all from the comfort of your living room! To entice new customer in many of the online bookmakers give away ‘free bets’ as part of a welcome offer, to encourage users to sign up to their site. In addition to this there are also free bet deals offered to existing customers. With traditional betting, winning is down to chance as there is no guarantee that your bets will win.
With matched betting, you eliminate the risk element of a bet on a particular outcome (back bet) by placing an equivalent bet on the opposite outcome (lay bet), so that you win no matter what the result. This betting technique allows you to make a profit on free bets. Typically, your profit will be approximately 80% of the free bet amount, so a £50 free bet turns into around £40 profit. It sounds complicated, but the tools we have for you will make it simple. The Oddsmatcher automatically finds, sorts and ranks the best odds for you, and the built-in calculator works out how much you’ll need to bet in order to make the optimal profit. We can also help you find and take advantage of the best bookmaker welcome offers and daily betting deals.
I am releasing a full comprehensive guide this week for absolutely free just check my Instagram for more details, feel free to message any questions! (https://instagram.com/doctorprofit?igshid=16xinzwbfnai)
Referral Link: https://www.profitaccumulator.co.uk/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=9467
Non-Referral: https://www.profitaccumulator.co.uk

Whether you are in to Rugby or not, the 2019 Rugby World Cup represents a great opportunity to make some money without ever risking your own funds.
This is all thanks to matched betting, which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:
https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.
If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:
https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of September.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
Oddsmatching Software
All matched betting calculators
Complete forum access
Comprehensive written and video guides.
Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are interested in the Rugby World Cup or not, we all want to make money - and this post will help you do just that!
Full disclosure first - we ran this discount for our service in September (and posted on this community), but seeing as England are actually doing quite well, we thought we'd bring it back to celebrate them getting through to the knock out stages.
So, how will this post help you make money exactly?
Well, it is all thanks to matched betting - which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.
If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of October.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are interested in the Rugby World Cup or not, we all want to make money - and this post will help you do just that
Full disclosure first - we ran this discount for our service in September (and posted on this community), but seeing as England are actually doing quite well, we thought we'd bring it back to celebrate them getting through to the knock out stages.
So, how will this post help you make money exactly?
Well, it is all thanks to matched betting - which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.
If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of October.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are in to Rugby or not, the 2019 Rugby World Cup represents a great opportunity to make some money without ever risking your own funds.
This is all thanks to matched betting, which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.
If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of September.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are interested in the Rugby World Cup or not, we all want to make money - and this post will help you do just that
Full disclosure first - we ran this discount for our service in September (and posted on this community), but seeing as England are actually doing quite well, we thought we'd bring it back to celebrate them getting through to the knock out stages.
So, how will this post help you make money exactly?
Well, it is all thanks to matched betting - which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.

If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of October.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are interested in the Rugby World Cup or not, we all want to make money - and this post will help you do just that!
Full disclosure first - we ran this discount for our service in September (and posted on this community), but seeing as England are actually doing quite well, we thought we'd bring it back to celebrate them getting through to the knock out stages.
So, how will this post help you make money exactly?
Well, it is all thanks to matched betting - which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.

If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of October.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are in to Rugby or not, the 2019 Rugby World Cup represents a great opportunity to make some money without ever risking your own funds.

This is all thanks to matched betting, which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.

If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.

If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of September.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Whether you are in to Rugby or not, the 2019 Rugby World Cup represents a great opportunity to make some money without ever risking your own funds.
This is all thanks to matched betting, which is still the best way to supplement your monthly income online.
If you are new to matched betting, then you can check out this comprehensive article from Money Magpie:

https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/beginners-guide-to-matched-betting

As for why now is the best time to get into matched betting, well that is simple. Big events like the Rugby World Cup bring enhanced welcome offers (which is where the majority of your profit comes from), great odds boosts and lucrative reload offers (offers for existing customers). All of which noticeably increases the profitability of matched betting - when compared to starting during a time with no big sporting events.
If you have already completed all the bookmaker welcome offers and know what matched betting is about, then there is still a good reason for you to return for this big event. That reason is Bet365 and Betway's early payout offers. With these bookmakers offering instant payouts on your team going 15 points and 14 points ahead respectively, there is a huge amount of profit to be made from just these two bookmakers alone. Guide for this type of offer linked below:

https://headsandheads.co.uk/training/n71xJQ/2up--14up-offers

Now, regardless as to whether you are a beginner or experienced, Heads&Heads has the best offer around when it comes to your first month of our Premium Matched Betting service.

£1 for 30 days Premium
The expiry date for this offer is currently set for the end of September.
Use code - RUGBY1
Click this link to head to the discount payment page: https://headsandheads.co.uk/sign-up?discount=RUGBY1

For your £1, you will get 30 days access to the following:
> Personalised Dashboard (to track your progress)
> Oddsmatching Software
> All matched betting calculators
> Complete forum access
> Comprehensive written and video guides.
> Live Chat Support

As always, if you have already got what you wanted from Matched Betting and have no interest in getting back into it, please do not disparage individuals from trying it out.

Hey beermoneyukers!
After years working in my 9-5 job as a website developer for a large corporation I decided I could not face selling my soul any longer lols and packed in my job.
Since then, I had a stint working as a freelancer whilst also making a healthy side income via matched betting. And over the past 9 months I’ve been building a website that teaches people how to do the same.
There are a lot of websites out there that teach matched betting, but most require a monthly subscription and most have long articles that can be a bit dry and hard to follow.
So instead, I built a website, Team Profit, that:
Is completely free
Uses animated video guides to teach people (link)
Has infographics to accompany all video guides
Provides step by step guides for 25+ bookmaker offer which will make you £600+ risk free (link)
I have amended the video script over 50 times to try to make it as concise and helpful as possible, hopefully they are a good watch!
Any feedback on the videos, guides, blog or anything else, please let me know, I spend every day adding new content and improving existing content.
If you are thinking of learning matched betting and making £600+ risk free, please check it out!
www.teamprofit.com

MEGA FAQs GUIDE TO MATCHED BETTING

The video guides I posted above will teach you everything about matched betting.
However, I figure no harm in me writing down everything I know about matched betting in an FAQ style layout. Hopefully this will be useful to you.
I have tried to answer every question as concise as possible / no rambling :D
I have split the FAQs into the following sections:

INTRODUCTION
1) What exactly is matched betting and how I do make money risk free?
2) How popular is matched betting?
3) Does it involve gambling?
4) How much money will I need to start?
5) How much time will it take me to learn matched betting?

OFFERS & YOUR PROFIT
1) How much money can I make matched betting from the welcome offers (new customer only)?
2) How much is a free bet worth in actual cash profit?
3) After I have finished the Welcome Offers, how much money can I make matched betting each month from Daily Offers (existing customer offers)?
4) What type of Daily Offers are available?

BOOKMAKERS AND BETTING EXCHANGES
1) Which bookmakers have the best welcome offers?
2) Which bookmakers have the best offers for existing customers?
3) What is mug betting?
4) What is a betting exchange?
5) How do we use a betting exchange?

ADDRESSING COMMON CONCERNS
1) How sustainable is matched betting?
2) Will it impact my credit rating?
3) Do the bookmakers have terms to stop customers from withdrawing?
4) Do I need to know about sports?

WHICH WEBSITES TEACH MATCHED BETTING - YOUR OPTIONS
1) Where can you learn matched betting?

ADDITIONAL FAQS
1) Depositing and withdrawing
2) Sending identification documents
Any questions that haven’t been answered please add a comment and I’ll add the FAQ and answer.

INTRODUCTION

1) What exactly is matched betting and how I do make money risk free?
There are more than 25 online bookmakers in the UK. In order to attract new customers, they each offer free bets, known as ‘Welcome Offers’.
In total they offer over £800 in free bets to new customers.
In order to receive the free bet, bookmakers require you to place your first bet. An example offer is ‘Bet £5, Get £20 free bet’.
The risk is that you could lose both the £5 bet (your own cash) and the £20 free bet.
By using a technique called matched betting, we remove this risk.
This is because we match our first £5 bet on the bookmaker with a £5 bet on a betting exchange on the opposite outcome (this is known as a ‘lay bet’).
For example, we bet £5 on Man Utd to win on the bookmaker, and £5 on Man Utd not to win on the betting exchange.
As we have now bet on all outcomes, regardless of whether Man Utd win, draw or lose, we will neither win nor lose money. However, we have received the £20 free bet!
With the £20 free bet, we can now repeat this process by betting on say Liverpool to win on the bookmaker and Liverpool not to win.
This time, because we are using a £20 free bet but our winnings are paid out in cash, we will always make a profit.
We repeat this process for 25+ bookmakers, one by one. In total we can convert the £800+ in free bets to over £600+ in actual cash profit, in very little time at all.

2) How popular is matched betting?
Matched betting isn’t new and has been around since at least 2005.
However, it is only since 2015 that it has really increased in popularity due to the rise of websites teaching matched betting. You can see this trend here: Google Trends Link
By looking at the various matched betting sites popularity, a reasonable estimate is at least 25,000 people in the UK are matched betters. You can see a review of sites that teach matched betting in the ‘Which websites teach matched betting?’ section below.

3) Does it involving gambling?
This is the most common assumption with matched betting. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it did involve gambling simply because the name ‘matched betting’ would suggest it did.
However, matched betting does not involve gambling, you will never be risking a penny.
Because we are always covering the opposite outcome occurring, there is never any risk we will lose money. Furthermore, we still receive the free bets which we will where we make our profit.
The profitability and risk free nature of matched betting has been reviewed in the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian

4) How much will I need to start?
You can start with as little as you want, however the lowest I would recommend starting with would be £25.
With £25, you can start your first bookmaker welcome offer and make a deposit into your first betting exchange, meaning you can start making a profit.
For more details, see this Starting with £25 guide.
The downside, with only £25 you are restricted by having to wait for withdrawals before you can move onto the next offer.
Therefore, I would say an optimal amount to have available for your cash flow would be in the region of £200 as this allows you to complete multiple welcome offers simultaneously.

5) How long will it take me to learn matched betting?
To learn the principles of matched betting, it will take up to 20 minutes.
To become familiar with completing your first offer, I would set aside another 30-60 minutes so you can take your time and ensure you are completing it correctly.
For example, the video guides on Team Profit last a total of 21 minutes (8 minutes for the explainers videos and 13 minutes to watch the step-by-step real time example). Although they last just 21 minutes, some users watch certain parts of the video again to become comfortable with the process.
It is very much recommended to avoid trying to learn matched betting by yourself. There are thousands of experienced matched betters who can help you. For more details on this, see the ‘Which Websites Teach Matched Betting’ section.
If you need any help anytime, please do comment in this Reddit thread and I’ll help you out.

OFFERS

1)How much money can I make matched betting from the welcome offers (new customer only)?
From the welcome offer, you can make approximately £1,000 cash profit.
There are 25+ bookmaker offers available on sports for at least £600 profit. These are relatively straightforward offers and good value in terms of time to complete. It would take around 12 hours to complete these offers, which works around £40 / hour tax free. You can complete them over any time period you like.
There are at least another 5 bookmaker offers, such as Bet365 and BetVictor, though these require more time, you could make around £100 to £200. They require more time because the bookmaker requires you to bet many more times before you can withdraw.
Plus 20+ offers across casino and bingo, though some are not risk free and typically take more time to complete, but you should be able to make at least £200 profit from these offers.
So overall, there is an easy £600 profit risk free, then up to another £400 if it’s worth your time to do them.

2) How much is a free bet worth in actual cash profit?
A £10 free bet is worth between £5 to £8 in actual cash profit.
The reason for the range is because the higher odds you choose for your free bet, the more actual cash profit you will make.
For example, if you bet on a football team with odds of 2.0, the £10 free bet will convert to around £5 cash profit. Whereas if you bet on a football team that is unlikely to win, with odds of say 6.0, the £10 free bet will convert to around £8 cash profit.
Note though, the higher odds you choose, the more you will need in your betting exchange account in case the bet wins. For a detailed explanation with examples, read this free bet profit article.

3) After I have finished the Welcome Offers, how much money can I make matched betting each month (from existing customer offers)?
Anywhere from £100 to £1,000+ per month.
Bookmakers continue to run free bet offers to retain their customers, I refer to these as Daily Offers.
Daily Offers are typically less valuable than the welcome offers but still worth completing.
For example, rather than ‘Bet £5 Get £20’ that they offer to new customers, they may instead run ‘Bet £20 Get £10’ and on a particular football match.
I would say for people with a day job, aiming for between £300 to £500 a month is realistic. In terms of time required, for every hour you spend, you should make around £30 tax free.
So to make £300 a month, expect to spend around 2-3 hours a week. I’d say to earn more than this, you will likely need to accept a lower hourly rate and do some of the low value offers too.
If you are looking to make £1,000+, I’d expect you would have to be near full time and also be fortunate to keep your enough of your bookmaker accounts open for 12+ month period (what is mugging bet FAQ below).

4) What type of offers are available for existing customers?

Easy offers:
The most common easy offer on football matches is Bet £20 Get £10 free bet. Many bookmakers run this offer, though it will usually be on a particular football match.
The most common easy offer on horse racing is usually on SkyBet, who will run simple offers such as ‘Get £25 free bet if your horse comes 2nd or 3rd’.
There are also easy casino offers, such as ‘£5 risk free’, where you spin on slots and hope to win, if you don’t they’ll refund up to £5 of losses.
These offers can make you up to £300 per month (or £500 on a good month with European football) and are easy for those with a day job.

Harder offers:
If you are looking to make more than £300 to £500 a month, then you will need to spend time on Saturday’s completing horse racing offers on Channel 4 racing and during the week too, though Saturday’s are the most profitable.
Plus you will need to do more advanced offers such as football accumulator refunds, each way offers, though I will leave these aside given they could have their own separate thread :p
If you’d like to understand where you can learn more about these offers, see ‘Which sites teach matched betting?’ FAQ below.

BOOKMAKERS AND BETTING EXCHANGE

1) Which bookmakers have the best welcome offers?

There are 3 formats of bookmakers welcome offers.

‘Bet £X Get £Y free bet’ - these are the most straightforward. Simply place your first bet and receive a free bet.
This format of welcome offer, ranging from Bet £5 Get £20 to Bet £50 Get £50, is available on Coral, SkyBet, BetBright, Betfred, Paddy Power, BetStars, William Hill, Stan James, Betway, Ladbrokes, TitanBet, 32Red and MarathonBet.

‘Refunds’ (also known as Risk Free offers) - these are similar to Bet £X Get £Y free bet. The only difference is you only receive your free bet if your first bet loses, hence I refer to these offers are refund offers.
This format of welcome offer is, ranging from £10 to £50 refunds, is available on Bwin, Dafabet, UniBet, Totesport, 188Bet, SuperLenny, Genting and 888Sport.

‘Multi Bets’ - these welcome offers require multiple bets to be placed before receiving your reward. It can take form of a bonus which requires to bet £X amount until you can withdraw any winnings, or the form of a cash reward once you have bet £X amount.
This format of welcome offer is available on Bet365, BetVictor and some other bookmakers, however they often require such a large amount of betting that I haven’t included them in this list.
The quickest to complete are the Bet £X Get £Y due to their simplicity, then the next best are the ‘Refunds’ offers.
The Multi Bet offers can be very valuable (e.g. Bet£365’s offer is worth over £150 profit risk free) but can also require much larger deposits in order to place the bookmaker bets and lay these bets in your Exchange.

For details of each bookmaker offer, see this Welcome Offer List & Guides

2) Which bookmakers have the best offers for existing customers?

Bookmakers vary in their level of generosity to existing customers. This is a little subjective, but in my opinion, this is the ranking of bookmakers for existing customers:

Best: Bet365
Bet365 run a £50 Risk Free offer most months (sometimes twice a month during popular football months) which is worth £35. It is very quick to complete (less than 10 minutes) so for £35 to £70, or around £500 a year, it is a great offer.
Plus they have one of the best horse racing offers, up to a £50 risk free bet if your pick a winning horse with high odds. This is a profitable offer worth around £20-£30 a week, or up to £1,000 to £1,500 a year.

Second Best: SkyBet
SkyBet run regular £5 to £25 free bet offers on horse racing and football, plus regular £5 risk free offers in SkyVegas.

Third & Fourth Best: Coral and Paddy Power
Both these sites run regular horse racing, price boosts and football offers (Bet £20 Get £10 in particular), at least £20 to to be made on every week from these two sites.

Good: William Hill, Ladbrokes, BetStars, Stan James, Betway, Bwin, Betfred, Totesport, 188Bet, 888, BetVictor
All these bookmakers run offer(s) each week so it’s worth ensuring you have completed the welcome offer for each of these sites so you can take advantage of their daily offers for existing customers.

3) What is mug betting?
If you are only ever betting when you receive an offer, the bookmaker will no longer allow your account to receive free bet offers (this is known as being ‘gubbed’).
To get around this, you should place ‘mug’ bets. ‘Mug’ bets are simply bets that a ‘mug’ punter would place. Mug bets include £1 accumulators (betting on several teams to win) and betting on favourites without an offer.
Most advice suggests that for every offer you receive, you should place 2-3 mug bets.
If you are gubbed, it does kinda suck when you receive the email, as you can no longer profit from the bookmaker’s offers.
It is also becoming increasingly common as bookmakers are noticing more suspected matched bettors, due to its increasing popularity. My advice is to make money whilst you can and take sensible precautions to try to keep your account active.
For more details, see this Mug Betting article

4) What is a betting exchange?
A betting exchange is a marketplace for customers to bet between each other on the outcome of particular events. This differs from a traditional bookmaker because an exchange also gives you the ability to be the bookmaker yourself and take bets from other exchange users.
Standard bookmakers generate profit by offering odds that are in their favour. Betting exchanges explained in terms of how they generate revenue is they charge a commission on any winnings a player receives.
The two market leading betting exchanges are, Betfair and Smarkets.
For more details, Betting Exchanges Comparison.

5) How we use betting exchanges?
When matched betting, a betting exchange is used to place our lay bets (the opposite bet to our trigger bet). So when we place the trigger bet with the bookmaker on one outcome to release the initial free bet, we must also cover the opposite outcome so that if the bookmaker bet does lose we still win on the lay bet - making it risk free!
Similarly when we are placing the free bet bet with the bookmaker we then lay off that bet using the exchange and because we’re using a free bet but being paid out in cash, this is how we turn free bets into withdrawable cash.
We only ever use betting exchanges for lay bets.

ADDRESSING COMMON CONCERNS

1) How sustainable is matched betting?
Matched betting over the past 6-9 months has become harder. Most bookmakers have realised they are thousands of matched betters taking advantage of their offers and so have either reduced the generosity of their offers or have made the daily offers more complicated.
However, there is still intense competition between the bookmakers, meaning they will always run special offers to an extent.
By spending a few hours a week, you can still make £300 to £500 a month, whereas in past year(s) this figure could have been £500 to £800.
The biggest issue matched betters face is being ‘gubbed’. As explained in the mug betting FAQ, this is when a bookmaker restricts you from receiving free bets and bonuses.
There are various theories as to how a particular bookmaker decides to to gub a customer. Reasons include taking up too many offers, winning a high % of bets, withdrawing regularly, placing bets far in advance or at irregular times.
The truth is nobody really knows precisely why people gubbed. However, you can expect to get gubbed at some point from a particular bookmaker, it may be 2 months, it may be 2 years, it is hard to know.
I really think though that everyone can make up to £1,000 from the Welcome Offers and at least £300 to £500 a month without any problems. I think the issues comes when you are making £1,000+ every month which sooner or later bookmakers will catch up that you are taking up a lot of offers.
Having said this, some people say they have been making £1,000+ every month for years, so maybe it is possible if you are using a wide variety of bookmakers and consistently placing mug bets.

2) Will it impact my credit rating?
Having betting activity on your bank statement does not impact your credit rating.
The only thing to be wary of when making betting deposits and withdrawals is that it can affect your application for a mortgage. So if you’re planning on applying for a mortgage in the near future then I’d recommend using a separate bank account to that which you’ll be applying for the mortgage with.

3) Do the bookmakers have terms to stop customers from withdrawing?
The vast majority of welcome offers do not have any withdrawal restrictions.
A handful of welcome offers do but this will be state in the terms and conditions. It is much easier though to use a matched betting website as they will clearly highlight the key terms of each offer (see ‘Which websites teach matched betting’ section below).
Casino offers will almost always have withdrawal restrictions, however for the matched betting welcome offers we are focusing on sports betting.

4) Do I need to know about sports?
Not at all! You do not need a sports background or have any sort of betting knowledge, many matched betters do not know anything about sport or betting before learning matched betting.
You may learn matched betting a little faster if you have sports betting experience but it really isn't important at all.

WHICH WEBSITE TEACH MATCHED BETTING - YOUR OPTIONS

There are 30+ websites that three key stages to matched betting:
Stage 1) Learning matched betting
Stage 2) Completing the Welcome Offers (for new customers)
Stage 3) Profiting in the long term from Daily Offers (for existing customers)
Below I have tried to cover the main sites that will help you with each of these stages.

In summary, I may be biased :p but I think the:
Stage 1) and Stage 2) best approach is to use TeamProfit.com
Stage 3) Join a paid membership site, either OddsMonkey.com, ProfitAccumulator.co.uk or ProfitMaximiser.co.uk to continue to make money from the Daily Offers.

FREE SITES:

TeamProfit.com (link)
I really believe Team Profit is the best site to learn matched betting and complete the welcome offers, but compare us to the other sites and see what you think!
Learn matched betting with animated videos (link)
25+ Welcome Offers using the step by step guides (link)
A free Facebook group to provide help to you anytime you need (link).

MoneySavingExpert.com (link)
The advantage of MoneySavingExpert is the sheer volume of content, covering all aspects of matched betting.
The disadvantage of MoneySavingExpert it is not well structured as it is just one forum with a long lists of posts so it takes quite a while to find relevant threads and miss key information.

MatchedBettingBlog.com (link)
The advantage of MatchedBettingBlog is the clear layout of the daily offers posted each day for with step by step instructions. It’s a good site to check to avoid missing the best and easier daily offers. The forum community also helps to post additional offers on top of those listed on the homepage, and also provides general advice on completing daily offers.
The disadvantage of MatchedBettingBlog is it is relatively limited in terms of teaching matched betting and does not provide a clear list of welcome offers. Also, for those looking to make £500+ every month, it doesn’t provide any software to help with the more advanced types of matched betting with daily offers, such as horse racing refunds and accumulator refunds, that the paid member sites offer.
Additional free matched betting sites include:
Matchedbettingfree.co.uk (link) (Reddit thread link)
Freebets4all.com (link)

PAID SITES:

Paid sites usually charge £15 to £25 a month.
In return, they will teach matched betting, provide list of welcome offers and provide daily offers too. Additionally, most paid sites will also provide software that helps to make you more money plus save you time.

OddsMonkey.com (link | non)
OddsMonkey charge £15 per month or £150 per year.
They are the most well known provider of matched betting software. Earlier this year, they added the full range of matched betting services, so now they provide all of the below:
Tutorial articles
Welcome offer step by step guides
Daily offers calendar
Software: OddsMatcher, Horse Racing Refunds, Tennis Refunds, range of calculators and spreadsheet
Forum
The advantage of OddsMonkey is the exceptional value. They have the best range of software and tools for matched betters to maximise their profits, are consistently bringing up new tools at no added cost. At only £15 per month it is one of the best options to consider.
The only disadvantage is the forum is not as busy as the next two options, ProfitAccumulator and Profit Maximiser. Though the forum is still a sufficiently active to ensure any questions have you are answered quickly.

Profit Accumulator (Link - Chazmer87's I don't have one | non)
Profit Accumulator charge £23 per month or £150 per year
Profit Accumulator helped to bring matched betting to the main stream with a highly active community. There are clear similarities between OddsMonkey and Profit Accumulator in terms of their high standard of software and offers.
The advantage of Profit Accumulator is their very active community. There is a great deal of advice in virtually every aspect of matched betting and the information is all well structured. Plus they have a very good offers coverage.
The only disadvantage to Profit Accumulator is the higher cost. The membership itself is £23 per month, plus their version of the Horse Racing Refunds software is £10 per month, or £115 a year. So in total you are paying £33 per month versus OddsMonkey’s £15 per month.

Profit Maximiser (Link | non)
Profit Maximiser is run by the original matched betting guru Mike Cruickshank.
Mike has been building software for matched betters for many years and has a very active Facebook Group.
Each piece of software is sold separately, I believe the below is accurate, each have their own £1 free trials:
Bonus Bagging £27 plus VAT - provides a list of all welcome offers and teaching (Link | non)
Profit Maximiser £97 plus VAT - provides all daily offers (Link | non)
Each Way Sniper £47 plus VAT - provides a horse racing betting system (Link)
Accumulator Generator £149 plus VAT - provides a football betting system (Link)
I believe Mike may have a couple more tools, if so I’ll edit this post if you could please comment / send me a message.
The advantage of Mike’s products is that there is no monthly recurring fee, so if you intend to do this for many months, it may work out profitable to do so. Plus from what I understand their Facebook Group finds some lucrative casino loophole offers faster than other matched betting providers.
The disadvantage of Mike’s products is that you have to buy each product separately rather than having it all within one simple account. Additionally, the total cost if you were to buy all 4 above listed products is £320 + VAT (total cost £384) whereas you could receive all these tools for £15 per month from Oddsmonkey. Having said that, Mike’s products do come with a £1 free trial, just be careful to cancel before the trial ends if you don’t want to continue.
Additional free matched betting sites include: Yes Bets link
Pure Profit link

ADDITIONAL

1) Depositing and withdrawing
To ensure you qualify for the Welcome Offer, use a bank card to deposit into your newly set up bookmaker account. Most sites will allow Paypal too though check the terms and conditions.
If you use Skrill or Neteller, typically you will not qualify for the Welcome Offer (bookmakers have this rule to prevent fraud) but you can check the terms and conditions.
Withdrawing is easy, you should receive your funds within 1-3 working days depending on the bookmaker.

2) Sending identification documents
Occasionally, bookmakers may require to send in identification documents (passport or drivers licence for example) and a copy of your bank card. This is to prevent fraud. This usually happens if you are not listed on the Electoral Roll or there is a difference between your home address and billing address. Simply take a photo of the documents they ask for and email them back.

THAT COMPLETES THE MEGA FAQ GUIDE TO MATCHED BETTING!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do post a comment thanks!

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Hey Personal Finance UKers! If you are interested in making £600 tax free and have some spare time, this is how you can take advantage of bookmaker welcome offers.
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Hi all,
I thought I would share my profits for Matched Betting Extra Place Horse Racing for Jan 21. January 2021 has turned into my best month of Matched Betting since I started way back in Summer 2018. This months profits are roughly £4,707. A life changing figure for many and a great figure seeing this is achievable on top of a full time job. Matched Betting is the only decent side hustle I have actually found, compared to doing hundreds of boring online surveys...yuck! (Unless you are a good business person / have 5 lodgers / lots of family money etc.) To see some of my other Matched Betting profits you visit my site: https://cashontheside.co.uk/
I will be investing some of my profits this month in ETF/Shares and putting into house improvements like a new drive way. In addition with Cheltenham horse festival coming up in March, I will be increasing my bank to cover liabilities.
The bulk of my profits came from Extra Place racing, large underlayed winners and BOG (best offer garuntee). Variance was certainly on my side this month and I must have had at least 10 large winners which won upwards of £1600 pounds per bet. As I underlay my bets I made more profit than If I had fully layed of the bets. About 5% of these profits came from low risk casino. After you have completed all welcome offers...in Matched Betting. Ep's become a gold mine...and I truly recommend them to anyone.
Some more of my bets this month illustrating underlayed bets and ep:
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings4.jpg
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings.jpg
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/another-winner.jpg

Images of one of my bets illustrative of Best offer guarantee: https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/136707133_10159536662702922_8507610622687908137_o-1.jpg?w=544
For those who are starting out on their Match Betting journey in 2021 these sort of figures are achievable to you once you have experience….unfortunately this will not come overnight! I do put a lot of time into it..between 2-5 hours a day, 7 days a week sometimes. For the average person you could earn at least £500 a month.
To learn more about Match Betting please visit my article Boost Your Income with Matched Betting. Alternatively you can start an Odds Monkey free trial where they will teach you step by step and give you the calculators you need: odds monkey trial https://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754(affiliate) or www.oddsmonkey.com. (non affiliate)
To those with a little more experience who want to learn about Matched Betting Extra Places you can visit my guide here Extra Place Match Betting tips here or I have copied and pasted it all below.
For those with Matched Betting Experience - my guide and tips to Extra Places:
What is Extra Place Matched Betting?
Extra Places can be a very lucrative technique to learn. Extra Places are available for us to do pretty much every day, increasing the appeal. Extra Place Offers are available to all customers. This means that even if you get gubbed with a bookmaker, in most cases, you can still make money with them by Matched Betting on their Extra Place Offers.
Extra Places are considered an advanced reload offer, as they not risk-free. However once you have gained some experience on more basic horse racing offers, you can start to take advantage of the lucrative profits available. It may sound complicated but as soon as it ‘clicks’, it becomes simple. Essentially we are taking advantage of the bookies and exchanges paying out if the horse you have backed comes a certain ‘place’ in a race e.g. 4th.
Extra Places combined with additional offers such as BOG (Best Offer Guarantee) can mean additional profits. For example, you back a horse at odds of 15 and then the starting odds move up to 23. If that horse wins you win an extra x8 on your bet. You can see some real life scenarios I found of Extra Place combined with BOG below. Depending on the size of the underlay, profits below would range up to £3,000+

What is a ‘place’ in horse racing?

Quite simply a ‘place’ is the position the horse finishes a race in. For example if a horse wins a race it comes 1st, if a horse comes 2nd its 2nd. In some races with a large number of horses some bookies will pay out if a horse finishes the race in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th position. Horse Racing festivals such as Cheltenham or Ascot are particularly well known for this.

What is an ‘Extra Place’ in horse racing?

Now we’ve understood what a place is in horse racing you may have probably already guessed what an ‘extra place’ is going to be! An ‘extra place’ is where the bookies add one (or more) additional places to their standard place classification on a particular race. For example they may offer to ‘pay 7 places on a race’ instead of the standard 3 places. The ‘extra place’ in this instance cover 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
What are my Extra Place top tips?

Some of my biggest profits have come from big underlayed winners and BOG. I typically underlay most of my bets by about 20% sometimes more. If you are starting out I would underlay on the place only by about 10% to play it safe until you learn more.
Don’t bet on more places than a bookmaker is offering. E.g. If the bookmaker is offering 4 places don’t bet on more than that.
Whilst your learning, take horses on implied odds of at least 12 or more on a match of 80%+.
Look to keep qualifying losses down. E.g. for £100 profit, £5 ql.
Please note, the best odds are typically found between 10 minutes up and to race time. You have to be quick on your ‘toes’…learn to walk before you run etc. Start out on easy horse racing officers before doing extra places.
You will need a bank of at least £1000+ for your exchanges, ideally more. The more you have the more of the field you can cover. You can do EP with several hundred in your exchange but you won’t be able to make bigger profits.
Be consistent, don’t take risks, don’t chase your losses and learn from matched betting extra place forums.
Keep the Odds Monkey up throughout the day...and check for good matches.
Use Bookies Boosts to increase your odds and matches.
Do not give in to your fear of missing out on offers…Tomorrow is another day.
Have at least a dual monitoscreen setup. It is important to be able to see exchange, books and calcs.

How do I find Extra Places offers?
I use the the Odds Monkey Extra Place Matcher to find the best opportunities for profit. The Matcher is explained in the below video.
https://youtu.be/oOKAdiSJidg
I am also a regular visitor of the active Odds Monkey community forums. You can sign up for an Odds Monkey free trial today here today https://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754 www.oddsmonkey.com (non affiliate). Odds Monkey provide you with the all guides, calculators etc. I have been a member for over 2.4 years now.
Feel free to get in touch or ask below if any questions.

If you read the Men's rd 1 write up you can skip the paragraph below and head straight to the writeups. I participate in a picking competition that runs for most of the tournaments on tour and recently u/kuklachert who runs it has set up an automated site to take it to the next level. Check it out if you're interested!
Kukla has taken the time to put together a really great and easy-to-use site to automate his tennis picking competitons. The Australian Open will be the first contest this site is public for, so if you're looking for a fun way to compete against your friends and predict tennis without losing money to shady books, check it out 🐢. Just sign up (totally free to join and compete), join the Australian Open comp, and start picking. The site automatically tracks all your results, and maintains a leaderboard. The chat (runs thru discord) is a great place to hang out while you're watching, and there are even some small cash prizes for the top 3 finishers. If you like picking tennis, or tennis, or cash, or prizes, or turtles, or turtles as prizes, or strawberries, or cookies, or tennis, then this is the site for you <3. Check it out here, and remember since it's new feedback is always welcome
Australian Open Picking Competition

Barty Kovinic : Rust is apparently not a thing for Ashleigh Barty. The loveable nugget from Australia took an entire year off from the tour due to Covid concerns, but started off this year as she does most years, by making the finals of the inaugural event. She has looked just as good as she ever was this week, and in the spot where she was likely to stagger against Bouskova (who was playing some excellent tennis in the 2nd and 3rd set) she was able to steady herself despite visible frustration. Although she has a finals left against a peak-form Muguruza, Barty’s fitness has never come into question, and since the WTA plays the 2/3 format, she shouldn’t really struggle with fatigue in the early rounds.
Kovinic has been a really consistent performer in early rounds on tour the past season or so, and she represents a very consistent baseliner who generally beats the players she’s supposed to. Barty just doesn’t give up the easy errors though, and will be sharp following some good matches this week. In Barty’s past as well as Osaka’s and Serena’s is losing sets in early rounds of majors, but here I think she will have ample time to right the ship even if she does go down an early break. Barty in 2.
Gavrilova Sorribes Tormo : This is a tough match for both players. Gavrilova struggled with injury for a while, but despite the lopsided scores against Serena this past week she played well. There are a lot of quality baseliners on the tour so the fact that these two stand out as very consistent is a testament to how hard they work on court. Gavrilova plays a bit more offense, but hasn’t really had a ton of wins. Tormo has won a bunch of matches, but lately is starting to slump a little. Bookmakers have this as a pickem, and I agree. It’s hard to see either player really pulling away here, and so the winner will have to be decided by who plays the big points better. Gavrilova has a slightly better serve, but Tormo makes a ton of noise on every shot and it’s fairly obvious that outlasting her opponent and outworking them is her intent. If Gavrilova loses it’ll be to rust. Simple shots into the net, and offensive opportunities sent long because of Tormo’s defense pressure. If she converts these, she should win as Tormo is unlikely to deviate. Gavrilova in 3.
Krejcikova Zheng : This is one where I disagree with the line as set. Krejcikova has had one of the quietest yet best years of her career. No major buzz, no discussions of her future from announcers, but sets taken off top players and cohesive beatdowns of players for entire matches. There was a match I watched last year against I believe Azarenka where she didn’t miss a shot for an entire set. For her to be only a mild favorite against Zheng I can really only chalk up to these being somewhat unknown talents to the general betting public and to Zheng’s ranking being a touch higher. I expect Krejcikova to continue to improve, and Zheng losing to Begu in 3 last week is understandable, but that was a matchup she had won in the past so her confidence has to be a bit under duress. Krejcikova in 2.
Trevisan Alexandrova : Unstoppable force immovable object type matchup. Trevisan is slated to lose almost every match she plays but she never alters her game. She keeps the ball in play in and is able to convert big unexpected shots on her forehand when you least expect it. The sort of Nadal above the head forehand means it’s tough to tell when she’s going to go down the line. Her attitude is great and her fight is inspiring. Overall though, she’s not currently going to overwhelm too many opponents. Losing to Petkovic isn’t great, as she does give you long stretches of errors at times. Across the net from her now is also Alexandrova, who just hit through Halep the previous week and is on an absolute tear. Alexadrova is always a pretty big favorite in early rounds, and she will be here also even though Trevisan is one of my favorite new competitors. Just making gets and attacking the backhand won’t be enough here for Trevisan. Alexandrova in 2.
Sasnovich Kontaveit : “This is as good a spot for Sasnovich to beat Kontaveit as she’ll likely see on tour.” That was my first thought when I saw this matchup. Kontaveit still has a semifinals to play today against Sakkari, and given how big she hits, fatigue could be a factor. Checking their history though, Sasnovich has won all but one of their contests so I really underrated her chances in the matchup. She even beat her last year at this exact event. I did bit of scoreboard watching this week also and caught Kontaveit having a bit more trouble than she should have with Mattek-Sands. It’s a bit puzzling since Kontaveit has such a dynamic game, but Sasnovich has a good chance to take this. Sasnovich in 3.
Watson Kr. Pliskova : Heather Watson has one of the widest spectrums of play on the WTA. She’s a great server and strings together at least one finals run each year, but in between she loses in straight sets to a number of opponents. Krystina Pliskova on the other hand never really makes the big splash, but wins a lot of matches and is a pretty steady fixture on tour. This is a serving battle and in serving battles the X factor is often who moves better in rallies. Pliskova’s backhand is heavy and she plays a game similar to Delbonis where more effort goes into the shot to try to avoid the ball being redirected, but she’s a bit slow. Watson is actually quite quick for a server, and given her history of notching wins against Pliskova, and the pickem line set by bookmakers, I lean towards her having a good chance to advance here. Watson in 3.
Rogers Jones : Shelbyyyyyyyy! Rogers has really blossomed in the past year and a half, and it’s good to see her finally notching wins on tour. She’s worked hard on her fitness and it’s resulting in greater court coverage. Francesca Jones looked amazing in qualifiers, and was crushing the ball early last week against Podoroska, but it’s clear that at this stage of her career, she needs time and control of rallies to really thrive. Rogers hits a heavy ball with a less exaggerated but similar motion to Madison Keys, and the time that she takes away from her opponents will prove to be the difference here. Podoroska punished Jones by redirecting her shots and the extra quality of pace coming back was often the undoing of Jones. I think Jones has a bright future, but she’ll need some help from the draws going forward to rise up the rankings. Rogers in 2.
Martic Danilovic : I am a big Petra Martic fan, but there is something lacking from her game sometimes. She started slow against Lapko, and never really threatened against Rogers. She should win this match, but Danilovic is a promising player and she’ll make Martic work for it. Her loss last week to Greet Minnen wasn’t a great scoreline, but Danilovic broke serve a few times and Minnen really came into this even sharp. I think this goes three, and Martic will need to control the tempo of the game in order to win because this is a very tricky spot for her. Martic in 3.
Bencic Davis : Woof. Bencic really has phoned in some performances lately. She’s got the game to win tournaments but really can’t find victories a good portion of the time. A quickish loss to Cirstea doesn’t mean the end of the world since Sorana is playing great tennis, but these are matches Bencic should win. A relative gift here from the draw since Lauren Davis doesn’t really overwhelm anyone, but Bencic will need to appear and compete to make her 2-0 advantage against Davis 3-0. This is a similar matchup to Martic’s where the favorite should find a way to win but the challenger absolutely will if they struggle on offense. Bencic in 3 or it could be a long year.
Strycova Kuznetsova : Strycova lost to Mattek-Sands last week which isn’t a real problem since hardcourt isn’t her best surface and Mattek-Sands presents a unique and frustrating challenge by getting to net so often. Rushing opponents who haven’t really had a ton of matchplay is a decent plan, and it paid off. Coming into this there’s not a lot of reason to think Strycova has anything wrong, but no real reason to think she’ll dominate this matchup either. Kuznetsova started off reeling off games against Brady, but the wind slowed down her ball and she really folded in the second set. Understandable, as Brady is really a top tier opponent, but not the kind of fight that makes me think she’s going to dominate Strycova. I still expect Kuznetsova’s baseline prowess to give her a pretty good chance to win here, but that it will be close since these two know each other so well and are towards the ends of their careers. Kuznetsova in 3.
Zhu Osuigwe : Lin Zhu has not been crushing worlds on tour, but Osuigwe is not quite read for the tour. Her AO qualifying draw was the easiest one offered, but beating Buzarnescu in the finals is still a great win for her. The junior standout is going to be a big question mark in any significant stage on tour, and although her and Zhu have similar quality games at the moment, it is more likely that the junior falters here. Zhu is very consistent and I give her the tiniest edge at the moment. Zhu in 3.
Mertens Fernandez : Mertens is my favorite. This is common knowledge. I don’t believe in elfs. That would be silly. But if I did. And they lived among us. And they were adorable. And they played really skillful tennis. I’m just saying. I’m just saying.
Fernandez really has some tough draws lately, and I hope the talented junior gets more matches that are not so very unwinnable soon. She showed what she can do by beating Sloane Stephens unmercifully last week, but Sloane is just shrugging and picking up checks at this point so I would expect Fernandez to want to play some 50-100 range talent soon. Mertens is a bit too stable from the baseline and will be able to move Fernandez well. Fernandez thrives on being lefty and exposing her opponents movement, but will be at a power disadvantage here. It just seems like barring a very bad day from Mertens, that this is a bit of a bad matchup for Fernendez. Elf in 2.
Ostapenko Muchova : There are elfs and there are dwarfs. Jelena Ostapenko is a cat swatting things off a table. You do not know why she does it and she is not likely to stop. There is something very reassuring about the singular approach Ostapenko takes to tennis, and going for winners every shot has netted her some very big results, but she doesn’t bring the best attitude to the bad times. Muchova plays one of the best rounded games on tour, and I’m a bit surprised that she’s not more of a favorite. Her defending is pretty darn special at times, and I think that Ostapenko will struggle with timing since Muchova can hang with some pretty big hitting. I think Muchova’s conditioning is a bit better also. Muchova in 3.
Cocciaretto Barthel : Cocciaretto is inching up the rankings nicely, and this is a great spot for her. Barthel has some talent, but being off the tour for so long has set her back a bit and it could be a bit longer before she really starts to win matches. This is winnable as Cocciaretto isn’t just going to serve you out, but she’ll have an edge from the baseline and has to know this is a good opportunity to snag ranking points against an unsteady opponent. Cocciaretto in 2-3.
Bogdan Collins : Tough opener for Bogdan, who crushes worlds in qualifers and early rounds, but doesn’t really have the marquee victories next to her name that would make her a good option to win this contest. Collins played extra sharp last week, and had a great 2020. Her serving has sort of improved, and given Serena’s resurgence, splitting sets with her hints that Collins’ peak performance of 2020 is her new level. Bogdan is very good, but not dangerous enough to shut Danielle out of the match. Collins in 2.
Pliskova Paolini : Pliskova matches are the most random events generally. Sometimes she smokes everything without blinking and looks like she’ll win the whole tournament. Sometimes it’s obvious she doesn’t really feel like making a full effort and her opponents get close. I think the moment is what dictates her effort, and she’ll put in enough effort here to beat Paolini. Jasmine has kinda thrived lately on just sticking around in matches, and hopefully Pliskova’s team will make it clear to her that this is a player who believes they can win this match. Pliskova in 2 but if she starts missing this could take 3.
Inglis Kenin : Maddison is a nice player, and it’s great for her to get a chance in a major, but this isn’t a lucky draw at all. Kenin is a frontrunner to go deep in any hardcourt event she enters. Super emphatic walking all day. Kenin in 2.
Kanepi Sevastova : Kaia Kanepi was formerly a player who’d go deep in the 3-4 tournaments a year that she showed up to, but in recent years she’d struggled to string wins together. A brilliant run this past week is likely to continue, but she has had some shoulder injuries in the past so she’s a mild question mark in this first round. I expect to see some kinesiology tape on her, and although Sevastova is a frustrating opponent we should see Kanepi able to control the rallies. Kanepi in 2.
McHale Podoroska : Christina McHale is a good baseliner. I feel like sometimes I say everyone is that when they’re just kinda generic. The truth is none of these players are generic. Tennis is ridiculously difficult and there just aren’t a myriad number of ways to play it and win unless you’re incredibly talented or physically gifted. Everything looks like pushing when you don’t have an edge in ballstriking. Pushing won’t work here though. Podoroska looked lost on hardcourt a few months ago. She even looked to be struggling early against Jones. She looked like she was outclassed at times against Kvitova. She continues to improve though and she has a great mind for tennis. This is a straightforward match and if she isn’t pressured Podoroska moves the ball too well to lose this. Podoroska in 2.
Vekic Wang : Donna Vekic just hasn’t won matches. She has a great game and looks like she’s a threat to win the event for a set, and then she just finds herself a bit behind the pace and loses. It has to be a mental struggle to really believe she’s going to turn it around at this point, and add in that here she’s expected to win but was beaten by Wang in their only previous meeting in Acapulco. How much tennis are we really playing at an event in Acapulco? I’m not quite sure. I do know that Vekic took a set off Pironkova last week, and she’ll have ample chances to employ her offense against Wang. This is a must-win for Vekic, and I think she’ll shrug off her struggles here. Vekic in 3.
Brady Bolsova Zadoinov : Brady is a fudge brownie in a world of regular brownies. There is something so pure about the way Ernie and Bert’s human cousin approaches tennis. It is a ton of fun to watch her forehand flutter through the air, and her backhand was never great but she has made great improvements to the length she gets on it and minimizing the slice habit has been great for her results. Bolsova had a couple nice wins recently to get her back on track on tour but this is relatively unwinnable. Windy conditions are really the only thing that’s going to throw people off this week in Australia and the wind honestly benefits players like Brady who can put a lot of shape/junk on the ball. Brady in 2.
Brengle Rodionova : Brengle seems like she’s a pretty big favorite here. Rodionova is benefitting a bit from wildcards at this point in her career, and she isn’t really a big threat to beat most of the top 100. Brengle in 2.
Sherif Pacquet : Mayar Sherif is a new name but she really is an effective winner. Her best attribute is durability so far. She extends rallies and hustles and hits a solid ball which is enough against lower tier opponents. As she gets more comfortable on tour I’m sure we’ll see more of her offense, but her plan A is best against this particular opponent. Chloe Paquet has one of the best T serves on tour, and goes for it almost every time. It’s a simple motion, and it nets a lot of cheap points since she serve and volleys often. Her marathon match with Destanee Aiava though illustrated that a good defender can make things very tense. I don’t consider Sherif such a big favorite as the -300 line she’s offered at, but given she’s a good bit better than Aiava at a similar strategy so she is likely to find the finish line here. Pacquet is great, but it’s really difficult to win matches when you have to earn every point, and she will here. Sherif in 3.
Konta Juvan : Jo Konta is a tricky one to predict. She sometimes looks very solid but struggles in extended rallies with errors. Begu was in good form so her losing there isn’t a problem, but there isn’t much to take away from her win against Pera. Pera was double-faulting at a really nonstop rate, and when that’s going on players beat themselves. Kaja Juvan is a tough test here, and she’s already snagged some good names and faces on tour. Coming through qualifying at the AO and also almost snagging Swiatek last week are good steps, but beating Konta may be a cut above what she’s accomplished so far. I expect Juvan to win a set, but maybe not the match. Konta in 3.
Azarenka Pegula : This doesn’t seem fair. Azarenka was the best player in 2020 for my money but that run has to cool off a bit. Her win against Putintseva shows she’s still focused, but her withdrawal to Kontaveit lends a bit of mystery to her quality heading into this match. Pegula had a decent week almost defeating Kenin, and this will be a good quality affair since Pegula really has good energy at the baseline and a solid forehand. I think she’ll struggle to find points though if Azarenka is full strength as Vika’s defending and counterpunching is a big strength of hers. Azarenka in 2.
Aiava Stosur : Couple wildcards playing in the first round. Destanee Aiava is clearly very talented and has great defending. She extends points well and her serve is passable. I’m not really sure how much tennis training she’s doing though as she’s a tiny tiny tiny small very minimal little bit heavier than she might want to be to really compete. She’s still young and there’s no reason she has to be completely committed to tennis or train her brains out anyway, just an area I think could make a match like this a clear victory rather than a “well she should win”. Sam Stosur hasn’t really played much winning tennis the past few seasons. She’s basically retired but still enjoying the sport the way I see it. Still has a great serve, a fast forehand, and can compete a bit but I don’t really see her fistpumping and getting too excited over it. This is one where Aiava’s war with Pacquet means she is able to outlast an offensive talent, but where Stosur’s experience may make her a bit more effective with her opportunities than Pacquet. Tough to really decide, and with Azarenka or Pegula waiting in round two, this is one I’m ok getting wrong. Stosur in 2.
Hibino Sharma : Hibino has climbed the rankings nicely again after some tough relatively winless seasons. She hasn’t played since the French which is a puzzle, and she’s sat at a pickem here against Sharma who really hasn’t won a ton of matches but has played some great isolated sets of tennis. Sharma is one of the few players who took a set from Kanepi this past week and since Hibino should be a bit rusty and is generally not an overwhelming talent but more of a counterpuncher this is a good chance for Astra. Sharma in 3.
Sakkari Mladenovic : Maria Sakkari is a top 10 player for the foreseeable future. She works too hard on conditioning to be outlasted, and the more comfortable she gets on tour the fewer errors she makes. Mladenovic is on a bad slide but is too talented to ever really crash off the tour. This is a rough draw, and she’s unlikely to come up with enough offense to beat Sakkari. Sakkarin in 2.
Stephens Putintseva : Sloane Stephens is already retired, and tennis is her retirement home. I don’t begrudge an athlete who’s accomplished so much some time off, and it really makes predicting her matches a bit easier. Sloane has the talent to beat anyone and hits the ball heavy when she’s playing well. She can drag her way through a match playing poorly, but the peak peformances that netted her titles are few and far between at this point.
Putintseva has been winning when she’s supposed to, and is very solid from the baseline. She might play the most error free tennis of anyone on tour in some stretches, and she’ll be able to frustrate Stephens. Putintseva in 2.
Burel Van Uytvanck : Clara Burel is very good, but like most junior standouts much of your future on tour depends on who you draw in the first round. Against a more conservative player or even someone with a smaller offense, Burel is going to have a good shot at winning. She drew Giorgi last week though and showed that while she’s a very talented player, she can’t really counterpunch nonstop during a match. This will be the ask here as well, and as well as Van Uytvanck played last week, the only issue working against her is how quickly she imploded against Muguruza when the ball started coming back.
AVU really plays nonstop offense, and can hit herself out of matches quickly if her opponent gets the ball deep. She’ll have a much easier time holding serve than Burel though, and I think in a tiebreakelate set situation Van Uytvanck’s serving will be a big plus as well as her experience. Burel will at some point be better than AVU, it’s just not quite there yet. Close match, but AVU in 3.
Teichmann Gauff : This is kinda puzzling. These two played first round in last week’s event as well, and Gauff didn’t do anything special but never really seemed like she was in danger. It was a 3 setter, and there were momentum shifts, but it seems like Teichmann has to do an awful lot to win a point and Gauff is able to just defend and eventually overwhelm her opponents. Pushing isn’t my favorite, but it’s hard to say that Teichmann is going to turn that result around in a week. Gauff in the same 3.
Svitolina Bouzkova : There are some really tough first rounds in this section of the draw. Svitolina is always a threat to go on a tear. Her defending is second to none and her forehand is solid when she’s confident. The problem across the net is that Bouzkova brings a similar level of defending, so this is likely to come down to who makes errors when forcing offense. Bouzkova didn’t struggle much to move the ball against Barty, but she played 2 good sets and one bad one. It’ll be a similar issue here. I think she can win a set, but winding up in a third set against Svitolina and having to come up with 6 games of winners is very tough. The upset is possible, but will require a really comprehensive performance. Svitolina in 3.
Andreescu Buzarnescu : A lucky loser spot will get Buzarnescu a nice paycheck. After struggling with some knee injuries, Andreescu finally makes her return to the tour. It’s tough to know what to really expect, but Buzarnescu has struggled to win matches on hardcourt, and it’s likely that Andreescu will have ample chances to win here. It’ll be interesting to see how she’s playing after such an extended break. Andreescu in 2.
Hsieh Pironkova : Hsieh pretty much gave up against Van Uytvanck last week and was having clean winners hit off her serve. She’s a fan favorite, but hasn’t been winning matches. Pironkova on the other hand, has pretty much beaten everyone on tour she’s faced since returning. I think that run continues here. Pironokova in 2.
Flipkens V. Williams : Flipkens wins just when you think she can’t. I think this is one of those spots where she can’t. Venus Williams isn’t going to beat the top half of the tour, but she’s still a pretty adept server and if she doesn’t have to move a lot, she’s a very tough out in early rounds. Flipkens thrives on a slice-heavy game and generally nets most of her wins against overzealous youth. Venus is neither, and should have the ability to win here. I don’t agree with her -318 pricetag, but I think her price is often inflated. Williams in 3.
Wang Errani : There’s always a good chance that Wang gets the job done in straight sets. She really performs well as a favorite, and rarely wins when she isn’t. Here she has a tricky opponent in Errani. Errani wins this matchup on clay, but hardcourt leaves her a bit lacking in big weapons. Wang hits big, but lost to Paolini last week which is a similar caliber of player to Errani. Errani is coming off a qualifying run in the AO, and lost a decider this past week to an in-form Ostapenko. This is a similar opponent and I’d expect a very close match. Wang winning here puts her in good shape since she can defeat Venus in round two, but the upset isn’t out of the question since Wang was able to basically get outlasted last week. Errani in 3.
Voundrousova Peterson : Marketa managed to wake up this past week, and because of that she’s probably going to win this match. She found good length on her forehand, and when she’s in a rhythm she’s very tiring to beat. Peterson has a great ability to get to the 5-5 point in matches, but hasn’t closed them out of late. There’s nothing overpowering in her game and you kinda need that to beat Voundrousova. Voundrousova in 2.
Marino Birrell : Marino did well to qualify for the AO, and playing a wild card ranked in the 700s is a good reward. Since I know Marino is reading this, I’m picking her. Marino in 2.
Tig Cirstea : Tig is one of the toughest fighters on tour. Some might say her attitude on court is, awful. Her play reflects how hard she’s fighting though, and she acknowledged in some interviews that she gets too intense at times. She hasn’t really found her hardcourt game yet, and Cirstea really has in the past few weeks. Tig will make this a long match, but it’s Cirstea’s offense vs Cirstea’s mistakes in this one. Most pro’s win that battle when it’s availalble. Cirstea in 3.
Minnen Kvitova : Tough draw for Minnen who came out firing last week and looks to have a bright future on tour. Kvitova is occasionally caught off guard but she tends to do well in serving battles and this is one. Kvitova in 2.
Muguruza Gasparyan : Muguruza is ballin. As I’m typing this she’s struggling to find easy points against Barty, but this week she has looked at her best. Two opponents have gotten 0 games in a set against her already, and that spells trouble for Gasparyan. Muguruza’s losses on tour are usually hard to watch and she looks tentative while makes tons of simple errors. This tells me that generally the difference in her game is how much training she’s doing and how much tennis she’s playing. For now, it’s a lot of both. Gasparyan is pretty darn good and a lucky loser spot is fair since she really does belong in the main draw, but this is toooooo tough. Muguruza in 2.
Samsonova Badosa : Tough tough first round. Liudmila Samsonova sorta reminds me of Rybakina and Sabalenka. She crushes the ball on both wings, she moves well, but her breakout performances were followed by a bunch of tough draws and losses. I think many players just get a bit solved by the tour, and Samsonova will have to wait a while to really announce herself. This is a good opportunity for her, and Badosa. Badosa is one of the ball-machines currently operating on tour, and really doesn’t give much up once the rally is started. This is a classic offense vs defense matchup, and although I think Samsonova has a higher ceiling, at this point Badosa should get the job done. Badosa in 3.
Diyaz Zidansek : Zarina Diyas is a player that always seems encouraging, but doesn’t win a lot. Her speed is off the charts, but her game is really geared towards that 2017-18 stretch where there weren’t really dominant players offensively and a lot of matches were about outlasting the other player. The shoutout format is really back now, and I think Diyas has to make some adjustments. Zidansek is mostly a clay talent, but she has better options and variety than Diyas. I wonder if anyone is reading this. Diyas beat Zidansek in 2018, but hasn’t really beaten many players since. Zidansek had some nice wins against Brady and Fernandez recently, so I’d lean towards her. Zidansek in 3.
Pera Kerber : Bernarda Pera winds up in a third set pretty much every time she steps on the court, but this past week in the windy conditions her serve left her bigtime. It was frustrating to watch and she never really found the motion against Konta. I don’t expect this to improve during a match against a very offensive returner in Angelique Kerber. Kerber looked sharp on isolated points this week, and I think she’ll be able to break early and often against Pera. Kerber in 2.
Petkovic Jabeur : Petkovic hit through Trevisan which means she’s at the top of her game. The top of her game though, is at the bottom of Jabeur’s. Since Petkovic is such a great athlete, her ballstriking can make this close for a bit, but Jabeur’s serving is top level and even though she plays a bit impatient, she’s likely to close this out even if she gives up an early deficit. Jabeur in 3.
Hibi Schmiedlova : This is a good one. Hibi is on a roll stretching 5 wins in a row to start the season prior to going down to Mertens (no shame there) this week. Schmiedlova has been really solid since coming back to the tour and has pulled a couple upsets most notably besting Azarenka at the Frenchest Open. Schmiedlova is likely to be the bigger hitter here but with both coming in in decent form, this should go down to the wire. Schmiedlova in 3.
Hercog Garcia : I’m not sure why I always think Hercog is going to win, but I do. Part of the equation here is that Caroline Garcia has turned in some of the most random poor performances I’ve ever seen, and Hercog pretty much always plays well even if she doesn’t really have the weapons to beat a top defender. It’s time to stop doubting though. Garcia has won all of the previous meetings between these two, and she played ok last week. Garcia in 2.
Pavlyuchenkova Osaka : Tough first round for Osaka as Pavs isn’t really interesting in what name is across the net, but pretty winnable. Osaka can lose any match, but can win any match also and that tends to be her most frequent result of late. Osaka in 2.
Sabalenka Kuzmova : Sabalenka struggles with strange losses less and less as she matures. I think she’ll add a good number of indoor titles this year, but her outdoor game will take another year or so. Hard to pick against her here though. Sabalenka in 2.
Boulter Kasatkina : Katie Boulter snatched wiiiiiiiiiigs last week. It was really a great run (defeating Kalinskaya and Gauff) and she looked like she might even defeat Osaka. That kind of quality is necessary, as Kasatkina is pretty efficient during the rally. She doesn’t have any clear holes in her game, and generally plays error free. Her only real struggle is with opponents that have power and Boulter doesn’t really crush the ball. Expect long rallies in this and if I’m being honest I’m not sure what to expect for an outcome. Boulter had a much better week, but Kasatkina is way more established. Boulter should probably lose, but Kasatkina has had some very extended struggles in the past on hardcourt. I’m guessing, but Boulter in 3.
Cornet Savinykh : Cornet is likely to have an edge here. She’s been just average in 2021 but is a very good defender and extends rallies in a manner that new players on tour generally struggle with. She’ll likely find errors from Savinykh but admittedly she is a new commodity and I’m mostly going off her results so far. Cornet in 2 but I’ll be watching most of this one to get an idea baout Savinykh’s game.
Li Zhang : Ann Li has basically surprised everyone this week (and by everyone I mean me). I really liked her game last year, and I find that she moves the ball around the court in a very composed manner and makes good decision as to when to get in to net. I didn’t expect her to beat Cirstea though, and I think that lends itself strongly to her beating Zhang here. Zhang received a 1 and 1 beating from Muchova last week and I don’t think she’s going to turn it around her against a surging talent. Li in 2.
Riske Potapova : Alison Riske hasn’t played since last season, and it’s going to be pretty tough to figure out where her level is given how inconsistent she’s played in the past. A lot of errors and a lot of serving struggles are interspersed with rare stretches where she really lands her shots and is able to overwhelm her opponents. I’m not sure if I put Potapova’s results above hers really. Potapova is the type to win 1 round at every event she goes to, but never multiple matches. Rusty inconsistency against consistent underperforming is a tough one to figure out. I lean Potapova in 3.
Bonaventure Babos : Ysaline is a fine player, but appears on tour a bit less than is really necessary to get up the rankings. This is a good chance in terms of name of opponent, as Babos has had some bad seasons, but not in terms of timing, since Babos is playing her best and most motivated tennis in the past few weeks. Her qualifying run was impressive, and although she lost to Garcia last week she acquitted herself well. Babos in 3.
Begu Stojanovic : Begu was really the most improved player at this week’s warmup events. I don’t see a reason given her quality of play to think that she won’t play a good level this week as well. Stojanovic was pretty convincing beating Sherif, but Begu is a big step up from a defensive qualifier. Begu in two.
Siegemund Williams : Laura Siegemund has really fought nonstop, and her reward is a pretty comfortable ranking on tour for at least a year. There were times where her knee injuries looking like they’d cancel her permanently, but she really is a joy to watch when she’s playing well. This is bad timing to play Serena Williams though. There isn’t really a good time, but her mobility suffered a bit in her return last season and she seemed a bit vulnerable at times. 2021 is here though, and Serena has shed any extra weight she was carrying, and looks very sharp to start the season. It takes a lot of hard training and dieting to do what she did, and there’s reason to believe that she might be able to get that long-sought after major title this year. Her serving looked excellent this past week, and although she withdrew with a shoulder injury, high profile tennis players injury withdrawals are often more opportunistic than tragic. Williams in 2.
Swiatek Rus : Iga Swiatek isn’t really confident on hardcourt yet. A lot of junior standouts get their first real results on clay, and she’s no different. Her talent though is something that won’t really be held back for too much longer. At this point it’s a question of when, not if. Swiatek in 2.
Shvedova Giorgi : Nice to see Yaraslava back on tour,but this is a pretty tough first round. Giorgi is playing pretty well, and should take advantage of Shvedova’s rust. Giorgi in 2.
Ferro Siniakova : Popcorn time. Fiona Ferro’s hardcourt results are night and day from her clay results. During her match with Rogers last week, she basically figured out hardcourt tennis within the match, but couldn’t really stick to the plan. I would expect her team to work on that, and I think that given Siniakova’s streaky play, that Ferro will have a chance to start winning on hc here. On the other side of the fence, Siniakova has lost some matches, but has competed and won against a much higher tier of player than Ferro. She has to sit as a slight favorite, and the question here is similar to Swiatek; when will Ferro put the puzzle pieces together. I expect it to happen in this match. Ferro in 3.
Zvonareva Rybakina : This is a brilliant matchup but unfortunate for whoever loses. Zvonareva served better than she has in a while last week, and her baseline game is always very accomplished. Rybakina is really good enough to win a major already, and the real trouble is just getting through these difficult early rounds. I guess that’s a problem for everyone, but a peaking Zvonareva is a difficult test. Rybakina has to sit as a favorite, but if she starts slowly she’ll lose this match. Still, Rybakina has the talent to withstand Zvonareva’s onslaught and her serving is just as good. Rybakina in 3.
Kudermetova Kostyuk : Kudermetova has a big edge coming into this, having just defeated Kostyuk at the event in Abu Dhabi. Kostyuk has been garnering some very high prices, and is expected to really have an impact on tour soon. The trouble came for her last week with the windy conditions in Melbourne. She’s a very clean ballstriker and needs to be able to commit to her swings. This is an exceptionally tough match to call, and the match in Abu Dhabi was decided by a single break. I think Kostyuk can turn this around, but her performance against Brady wasn’t very inspiring. Someone in 3.
Gracheva Blinkova : Blinkova’s been struggling to notch wins, and Gracheva won their previous meeting. This is another very tight contest, but it’s hard to say that Gracheva doesn’t have a small edge here. Gracheva in 3.
Doi Tomljanovic : Misaki really isn’t the most dominant player but she presents a very difficult test if her opponent lacks power. Ajla Tomljanovic is a great talent but hasn’t really taken the next step on tour. It’s easy to think that her tough results on tour mean she’ll never get there, but she does play some tight matches against most opponents. I think she’ll get a boost from playing at home here, and while Doi is good for a few breaks of serve against most players, Ajla will really just need to keep errors to a minimum to get across the finish line here. Tomljanovic in 3.
Cabrera Halep : Cabrera is a good talent, but I am quite sleepy at this point, so Halep in 2.

INTERVIEWER: Good morning. Let me ask forty-odd questions.
NABOKOV: Good morning. I am ready.
INTERVIEWER: Yoursense of the immorality of the relationship between Humbert Humbert and Lolita is very strong. In Hollywood and NewYork, however,relationships are frequent between men offorty andgirls very little older than Lolita. They marry—to no particular public outrage; rather, public cooing.
NABOKOV: No,it is not my sense of the immorality of the Humbert Humbert-Lolita relationship that is strong; it is Humbert’s sense. He cares, I do not. J do not give a damnfor public morals, in America or elsewhere. And, anyway, cases of men in their forties marryinggirls in their teens or early twenties have no bearing on Lolita whatever. Humbert was fondof “‘ittle girls”—not simply “younggirls.” Nymphetsare girl-children, not starlets and “‘sex kittens.” Lolita was twelve, not eighteen when Humbert met her. You may rememberthat by the timesheis fourteen, he refers to her as his “aging mistress.”
INTERVIEWER: Onecritic (Pryce-Jones) has said about you that “his feelingsare like no oneelse’s.”” Does this make sense to you?Or does it mean that you know your feelings better than others knowtheirs? Or that you have discovered yourself at other levels?Or simply that your history is unique?
NABOKOV: I do notrecall that article; but if a critic makes such a statement, it must surely mean that he hasexplored thefeelings of literally millions of people, in at least three countries, before reaching his conclusion. If so, I am a rare fowl indeed.If, on the other hand, he has merely limited himself to quizzing members of his family or club, his statement cannot be discussedseriously.
INTERVIEWER: Anothercritic has written that your “worlds are static. They may becometense with obsession, but they do not break apart like the worlds of everydayreality.”” Do you agree? Isthere a static quality in your view of things?
NABOKOV: Whose “reality”? “Everyday” where? Let me suggest that the very term “everyday reality” is utterly static since it presupposesa situation that is permanently observable, essentially objective, and universally known. I suspect you have invented that expert on “everydayreality.” Neither exists.
INTERVIEWER: He does (names him). A third critic has said that you “diminish” your characters “to the point where they become ciphers in a cosmic farce.” I disagree; Humbert, while comic, retains a touching and insistent quality—that of the spoiled artist.
NABOKOV: I would put it differently: Humbert Humbertis a vain and cruel wretch who manages to appear “touching.” That epithet, in its true, tear-iridized sense, can only apply to my poor little girl. Besides, how can I “diminish” to the level of ciphers, et cetera, characters that I have invented myself? One can “‘diminish” a biographee, but not an eidolon.
INTERVIEWER: E.. M. Forster speaks of his major characters sometimes taking over and dictating the courseof his novels. Has this ever been a problem for you, or are you in complete command?
NABOKOV: My knowledge of Mr. Forster’s works is limited to one novel, which dislike; and anyway, it was not he whofathered thattrite little whimsy about characters getting out of hand;it is as old as the quills, although of course one sympathizes with his people if they try to wriggle out of that trip to India or wherever he takes them. My characters are galley slaves.
INTERVIEWER: Clarence Brown of Princeton has pointed out striking similarities in your work. Herefers to you as “extremely repetitious” and that in wildly different ways you are in essence saying the same thing. He speaks of fate being the “muse of Nabokov.” Are you consciously aware of “repeating yourself,” or to put it another way, that you strive for a conscious unity to your shelf of books?
NABOKOV: I do not think I have seen Clarence Brown’sessay, but he may have something there. Derivative writers seem versatile because they imitate many others, past and present. Artistic originality has only its own self to copy.
INTERVIEWER: Do you thinkliterary criticism is at all purposeful? Either in general, or specifically about your own books? Is it ever instructive?
NABOKOV: The purposeofa critique is to say something about a book the critic has or has not read. Criticism can be instructive in the sense that it gives readers, including the authorof the book, some information about thecritic’s intelligence, or honesty, or both.
INTERVIEWER: Andthe function of the editor? Has one ever had literary advice to offer?
NABOKOV: By “editor” I suppose you mean_proofreader. Amongthese I have known limpid creatures of limitless tact and tenderness who would discuss with me a semicolon asif it were a point of honor—which, indeed, a point of art often is. But I have also comeacross a few pompous avuncular brutes who would attemptto “make suggestions” which I countered with a thunderous “‘stet!”’
INTERVIEWER: Are you a lepidopterist, stalking your victims? If so, doesn’t your laughter startle them?
NABOKOV: Onthe contrary, it lulls them into the state of torpid security which an insect experiences when mimicking a dead leaf. Though by no meansan avid reader of reviews dealing with my ownstuff, I happen to rememberthe essay by a young lady who attempted to find entomological symbols in my fiction. The essay might have been amusing had she known something about Lepidoptera. Alas, she revealed complete ignorance, and the muddle of terms she employed proved to be only jarring and absurd.
INTERVIEWER: How would you define youralienation from the so-called White Russian refugees?
NABOKOV: Well, historically I am a “White Russian” myself since all Russians wholeft Russia as my family did in thefirst years of the Bolshevist tyranny because of their opposition to it were and remained White Russians in the large sense. But these refugees were split into as many social fractions and political factions as wasthe entire nation before the Bolshevist coup. I do not mix with “black-hundred” White Russians and do not mix with the so-called ‘“‘bolshevizans,” that is “pinks.”” On the other hand, I have friends among intellectual Constitutional Monarchists as well as amongintellectual Social Revolutionaries. My father was an old-fashioned liberal, and I do not mind being labeled an old-fashioned liberal, too.
INTERVIEWER: How would you define youralienation from present-day Russia? __
NABOKOV: As a deep distrust of the phony thaw now advertised. As a constant awareness of unredeemable iniquities. As a complete indifference to all that moves a patriotic Sovetski man of today. As the keen satisfaction of having discernedasearly as 1918 (nineteen eighteen) the meshchantsvo (petty bourgeois smugness, Philistine essence) of Leninism.
INTERVIEWER: How do you now regard the poets Blok and Mandelshtam and others whowerewriting in the days before you left Russia?
NABOKOV: I read them in my boyhood, more than a half century ago. Ever since that time I have remainedpassionately fond of Blok’s lyrics. His long pieces are weak, and the famous The Twelve is dreadful, self-consciously couched in a phony “primitive” tone, with a pink cardboard Jesus Christ glued on at the end. As to Mandelshtam,I also knew him by heart, but he gave me a less fervent pleasure. Today, through the prism of tragic fate, his poetry seemsgreater than it actually is. I note incidentally that professors of literature still assign these two poets to different schools. There is only one school: that of talent.
INTERVIEWER: I know your work has been read andis attacked in the Soviet Union. How would you feel about a Soviet edition of your work?
NABOKOV: Oh, they are welcome to my work. As a matter of fact, the Editions Victor are bringing out my Jnvitation to a Beheading in a reprintof the original Russian of 1935, and a New York publisher (Phaedra) is printing my Russian translation of Lolita. 1 am sure the Soviet Governmentwill be happy to admit officially a novel that seems to contain a prophecy of Hitler’s regime, and a novel that condemnsbitterly the American system of motels.
INTERVIEWER: Haveyouever had contact with Soviet citizens? Of what sort?
NABOKOV: I have practically no contact with them, though I did onceagree,in theearly thirties or late twenties, to meet—out of sheer curiosity—an agent from Bolshevist Russia who was trying hard to get émigré writers andartists to return to the fold. He had a double name, Lebedev something, and had written a novelette entitled Chocolate, and I thought I might have some sport with him. I asked him would I be permitted to write freely and would I be able to leave Russia if I did notlike it there. He said that I would be so busyliking it there that I would have no time to dream of going abroadagain. I would,he said, beperfectly free to choose any of the many themesSoviet Russia bountifully allows a writer to use, such as farms, factories, forests in Fakistan —oh,lots of fascinating subjects. I said farms, et cetera, bored me, and my wretched seducer soon gave up. He hadbetter luck with the composer Prokofiev.
INTERVIEWER: Do you consider yourself an American?
NABOKOV: Yes, I do. 1am as American as April in Arizona. The flora, the fauna, the air of the Western states, are my links with Asiatic and Arctic Russia. Of course, I owe too much to the Russian language and landscape to be emotionally involved in, say, American regionalliterature, or Indian dances, or pumpkin pie on a spiritual plane; but I do feel a suffusion of warm,lighthearted pride when I show mygreen U.S.A.passport at European frontiers. Crude criticism of American affairs offends and distresses me. In homepolitics I am strongly antisegregationist. In foreign policy, I am definitely on the government’s side. And when in doubt, I always follow the simple method of choosing that line of conduct which may be the most displeasing to the Reds and the Russells.
INTERVIEWER: Is there a community of which you consider yourself a part?
NABOKOV: Notreally. I can mentally collect quite a large number of individuals whom I am fondof, but they would form a very disparate and discordant group if gathered in real life, on a real island. Otherwise, I would say that I am fairly comfortable in the company of American intellectuals who have read my books
INTERVIEWER: Whatis your opinion of the academic world as a milieu for the creative writer? Could you speak specifically of the value or detriment of your teaching at Cornell?
naBoxov: A first-rate college library with a comfortable campus arounditis a fine milieu for a writer. There is, of course, the problem of educating the young. I remember how once, between terms, not at Cornell, a student broughta transistor set with him into the reading room. He managedto state that (1) he was playing “classical”? music; that (2) he was doing it “softly”; and that (3) “there were not many readers around in summer.” I was there, a one-man multitude.
INTERVIEWER: Would you describe yourrelationship with the contemporary literary community? With Edmund Wilson, Mary McCarthy, your magazine editors and book publishers?
NABOKOV: The only time | ever collaborated with any writer was when I translated with Edmund Wilson Pushkin’s Mozart and Salieri for the New Republic twenty-five years ago, a rather - paradoxical recollection in view of his making such a fool of himself last year when he had the audacity of questioning my understanding of Fugene Onegin. Mary McCarthy, on the other hand, has been very kind to me recently in the same New Republic, although I do think she added quite a bit of her own angelica to the pale fire of Kinbote’s plum pudding. I prefer not to mention here myrelationship with Girodias, but I have answered in Evergreen his scurvy article in the Olympia anthology. Otherwise,I am on excellent terms with all my publishers. My warm friendship with Catharine White and Bill Maxwell of The New Yorker is something the most arrogant author cannot evoke without gratitude and delight.
INTERVIEWER: Could you say something of your work habits? Do you write to a preplanned chart? Do you jump from one section to another, or do you move from the beginning through to the end?
NABOKOV: The pattern of the thing precedesthe thing.I fill in the gaps of the crossword at any spot I happen to choose. These bits I write on index cards until the novel is done. My schedule is flexible, but I am rather particular about my instruments:lined Bristol cards and well sharpened, not too hard, pencils capped with erasers. |
INTERVIEWER: Is there a particular picture of the world which you wish to develop? The past is very present for you, even in a novel of the “future,” such as Bend Sinister. Are you a “nostalgist’? In what time would you prefer to live?
NABOKOV: In the coming days of silent planes and graceful aircycles, and cloudless silvery skies, and a universal system of padded undergroundroadsto which trucksshall be relegated like Morlocks. As to the past, I would not mind retrieving from various corners of spacetime certain lost comforts, such as baggy trousers and long, deep bathtubs.
INTERVIEWER: You know, you do not have to answerall my Kinbote-like questions.
NABOKOV: It would never do to start skipping the tricky ones. Let us continue.
INTERVIEWER: Besides writing novels, what do you, or would you, like most to do?
NABOKOV: Oh, hunting butterflies, of course, and studying them. Thepleasures and rewardsofliterary inspiration are nothing beside the rapture of discovering a new organ under the microscope or an undescribed species on a mountainside in Iran or Peru. It is not improbable that had there been no revolution in Russia, I would have devoted myself entirely to lepidopterology and never written any novels at all.
INTERVIEWER: Whatis most characteristic of poshlust in contemporary writing? Are there temptations for you in the sin of poshlust? Have you everfallen?
NABoKov: “Poshlust,” or in a better transliteration poshlost, has many nuances, and evidently I have not described them clearly enough in mylittle book on Gogol, if you think one can ask anybody if he is tempted by poshlost. Corny trash, vulgar clichés, Philistinism in all its phases, imitations of imitations, bogus profundities, crude, moronic, and dishonest pseudo-literature—these are obvious examples. Now, if we want to pin down poshlost in contemporary writing, we mustlookfor it in Freudian symbolism, moth-eaten mythologies, social comment, humanistic messages, political allegories, overconcern with class or race, and the journalistic generalities we all know. Poshlost speaks in such concepts as “Americais no better than Russia” or “Weall share in Germany’s guilt.” The flowers of poshlost bloom in such phrases and terms as “the momentoftruth,” “charisma,” “existential” (used seriously), “dialogue’’ (as applied to political talks between nations), and “vocabulary” (as applied to a dauber). Listing in one breath Auschwitz, Hiroshima, and Vietnam is seditious poshlost. Belonging to a very select club (which sports one Jewish name—thatofthe treasurer) is genteel poshlost. Hack reviews are frequently poshlost, but it also lurks in certain highbrow essays. Poshlost calls Mr. Blank a great poet and Mr. Bluff a great novelist. One of poshlost’s favorite breeding places has always been the Art Exhibition; there it is produced by so-called sculptors working with the tools of wreckers, building crankshaft cretins of stainless steel, zen stereos, polystyrene stinkbirds, objects trouvés in latrines, cannon balls, canned balls. There we admire the gabinetti wall patterns of so-called abstract artists, Freudian surrealism, roric smudges, and Rorschach blots—all of it as corny in its own right as the academic ‘“‘September Morns” and “Florentine Flowergirls” of half a century ago. Thelist is long, and, of course, everybody has his béte noire, his black pet, in the series. Mine is that airline ad: the snack served by an obsequious wench to a young couple—sheeyeing ecstatically the cucumber canapé, he admiring wistfully the hostess. And, of coursé, Death in Venice. You see the range.
INTERVIEWER: Are there contemporary writers you follow with great pleasure?
NABOKOV: There are several such writers, but I shall not name them. Anonymouspleasure hurts nobody.
INTERVIEWER: Do you follow some with great pain?
NABOKOV: No. Manyaccepted authors simply do not exist for me. Their names are engraved on emptygraves, their books are dummies, they are complete nonentities insofar as my taste in reading is concerned. Brecht, Faulkner, Camus, many others, mean absolutely nothing to me, and I must fight a suspicion of conspiracy against my brain whenI see blandly acceptedas “great literature’ by critics and fellow authors Lady Chatterley’s copulations or the pretentious nonsense of Mr. Pound, that total fake. I note he has replaced Dr. Schweitzer in some homes.
INTERVIEWER: As an admirer of Borges and Joyce you seem to share their pleasure in teasing the reader with tricks and puns and
puzzles. What do you think the relationship should be between reader and author?
NABOKOV:I do not recollect any puns in Borges, but then I read him onlyin translation. Anyway, his delicatelittle tales and miniature Minotaurs have nothing in commonwith Joyce’s great machines. Nor do I find manypuzzles in that mostlucid of novels, Ulysses. On the other hand, I detest Punningans Wake in which a cancerous growth of fancy word-tissue hardly redeems the dreadful joviality of the folklore and the easy, too easy,allegory.
INTERVIEWER: What have you learned from Joyce?
NABOKOV: Nothing.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, come.
NABOKOV: James Joyce has not influenced me in any manner whatsoever. Myfirst brief contact with Ulysses was around 1920 at Cambridge University, when a friend, Peter Mrozovski, who had brought a copy from Paris, chanced to read to me, as he stomped up and down mydigs, one or two spicy passages from Molly’s monologue, which, entre nous soit dit, is the weakest chapter in the book. Only fifteen years later, when I was already well formedas a writer and reluctantto learn or unlearn anything, I read Ulysses andliked it enormously. I am indifferent to Finnegans Wake as I am toall regional literature written in dialect— even if it be the dialect of genius. |
INTERVIEWER: Aren’t you doing a book about James Joyce?
NABOKOV: But not only about him. What I intend to do is publish a number of twenty-page essays on several works— Ulysses, Madame Bovary, Kafka’s Transformation, Don Quixote, and others—all based on my Cornell and Harvard lectures. I rememberwith delight tearing apart Don Quixote, a cruel and crude old book, before six hundred students in Memorial Hall,
much to the horror and embarrassment of some of my more conservative colleagues.
INTERVIEWER: What about other influences? Pushkin?
NABOKOV: In a way—no morethan,say, Tolstoy or Turgenev were influenced by the pride and purity of Pushkin’sart.
INTERVIEWER: Gogol?
NABOKOV: I was careful not to learn anything from him. As a teacher, he is dubious and dangerous. At his worst, as in his Ukranian stuff, he is a worthless writer; at his best, he is incomparable and inimitable.
INTERVIEWER: Anyoneelse?
NABOoKOv: H. G. Wells, a great artist, was my favorite writer when I was a boy. The Passionate Friends, Ann Veronica, The Time Machine, The Country of the Blind, all these stories are far better than anything Bennett, or Conrador, in fact, any of Wells’ contemporaries could produce. His sociological cogitations can be safely ignored, of course, but his romances and fantasias are superb. There was an awful momentat dinnerin our St. Petersburg house one night when Zinaida Vengerov,his translator, informed Wells, with a toss of her head: ““You know, my favorite work of yours is The Lost World.” “She means the war the Martians lost,” said my father quickly.
INTERVIEWER: Did you learn from your students at Cornell? Wasthe experience purely a financial one? Did teaching teach you anything valuable?
NABOKOV: My method of teaching precluded genuine contact with mystudents. At best, they regurgitated a few bits of my brain during examinations. Everylecture I delivered had beencarefully, lovingly handwritten and typed out, and I leisurely read it out in class, sometimes stopping to rewrite a sentence and sometimes repeating a paragraph—a mnemonic prod which, however,seldom provoked any changein the rhythm of wrists taking it down. I welcomed the few shorthand experts in my audience, hoping they would communicate the information theystored to their less fortunate comrades. Vainly I tried to replace my appearances at the lectern by taped records to be played overthe college radio. On the other hand, I deeply enjoyed the chuckle of appreciation in this or that warm spotof thelecture hall at this or that point of my lecture. My best reward comes from those former students of mine who,ten orfifteen years later, write to me to say that they now understand what I wanted of them when I taught them to visualize Emma Bovary’s mistranslated hairdo or the arrangement of roomsin the Samsa household or the two homosexuals in Anna Karenina. | do not knowif I learned anything from teaching, but I know I amassed an invaluable amountof exciting information in analyzing a dozen novels for my students. Mysalary as you happen to know was not exactly a princely one.
INTERVIEWER: Is there anything you would care to say about the collaboration your wife has given you?
NABOKOV: Shepresided as adviser and judge over the making of my first fiction in the early twenties. I have read to her all my stories and novels at least twice; and she has reread them all when typing them andcorrecting proofs and checking translations into several languages. One day in 1950,at Ithaca, New York, she was responsible for stopping meand urging delay and second thoughts as, beset with technical difficulties and doubts, I was carrying the first chapters of Lolita to the garden incinerator.
INTERVIEWER: Whatis yourrelation to thetranslations of your books?
NABOKOV: In the case of languages my wife and I know or can read—English, Russian, French, and to a certain extent German and Italian—thesystem is a strict checking of every sentence. In the case of Japanese or Turkish versions, I try not to imagine the
disasters that probably bespatter every page.
INTERVIEWER: What are your plans for future work?
NABOKOV: [| am writing a new novel, but of this I cannot speak. Anotherproject I have been nursing for some timeis the publication of the complete screenplay of Lolita that I made for Kubrick. Although there are just enough borrowings from it in his version to justify my legal position as authorof the script, the film is only a blurred skimpy glimpse of the marvelouspicture I imagined and set down scene by scene during the six months I worked in a Los Angelesvilla. I do not wish to imply that Kubrick’s film is mediocre; in its own right, it is first-rate, but it is not what I wrote. A tinge of poshlost is often given by the cinemato the novel it distorts and coarsensin its crooked glass. Kubrick, I think, avoided this fault in his version, but I shall never understand why he did not follow mydirections and dreams.It is a great pity; but at least I shall be able to have people read my Lolita playin its original form.
INTERVIEWER: If you had the choice of one and only one book by which you would be remembered, which one would it be?
NABOKOV: The one I am writing or rather dreamingof writing. Actually, I shall be remembered by Lolita and my work on Eugene Onegin.
INTERVIEWER: Doyou feel you have any conspicuousorsecret flaw as a writer?
NABOKOV: Theabsenceof a natural vocabulary. An odd thing to confess, but true. Of the two instruments in mypossession, one —my native tongue—I can no longer use, and this not only because I lack a Russian audience, but also because the excitement of verbal adventure in the Russian medium has faded away gradually after I turned to English in 1940. My English, this second instrument I have always had, is howevera stifhsh, artificial thing, which may beall right for describing a sunset or an insect, but which cannot conceal poverty of syntax and paucity of domestic diction when I need the shortest road between warehouse and shop. An old Rolls Royce is not always preferable to a plain jeep.
INTERVIEWER: What do you think about the contemporary - competitive ranking of writers?
NABOKOV: Yes, I have noticed that in this respect our professional book reviewers are veritable bookmakers. Who’s in, who’s out, and where are the snowsof yesteryear. All very amusing. I am a little sorry to be left out. Nobody can decide if I am a middle-aged American writer or an old Russian writer—or an ageless international freak.
INTERVIEWER: Whatis your great regret in your career?
NABOKOV: That I did not comeearlier to America. I would have liked to have lived in New York in the thirties. Had my Russian novels been translated then, they might have provided a shock and a lesson for pro-Soviet enthusiasts.
INTERVIEWER: Aretheresignificant disadvantages to your present fame?
NABOKOV: Lolita is famous, not I. I am an obscure, doubly obscure, novelist with an unpronounceable name.

-HERBERT GOLD

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