At the end of the day, there are many ways in which you could choose a tennis betting site, and there really is no rule book here. However, there definitely are some things to consider. Let’s look at these things in detail below.
Competitive odds
OK, so betting is all about odds, there’s no getting away from that simple fact. If you’re betting on tennis, then you may as well get the best odds that you can, right?
Let’s face it, it’s unlikely that you’d pay more for goods or services than you needed to. Well, taking odds is a little like that. Assume that you need to buy some butter and you know exactly what butter you’re going to buy. You’re not going to pay X for the butter when you can get it for Y are you? OK, so why would you use a bookmaker that isn’t known for offering competitive odds.
Taking into consideration which bookmakers are most known for offering competitive odds is absolutely something you should be doing when choosing a tennis betting site, and don’t forget, to get the best odds as often as possible, it’s a good idea to have accounts with multiple bookmakers.
Tennis betting market variety
Some tennis bettors may only want to bet on the winner of a tennis match, which is the most common tennis betting market. All betting sites offer this market.
However, if you’re the sort of bettor looking to bet on a variety of tennis betting markets, then market variety is going to be important to you. This is why it’s important to find out what the market variety is like at a tennis betting site before joining.
Live betting / streaming
In today’s betting world, live betting is a big thing for many bettors. Gone are the days when we only bet before an event begins.
If you like to bet on the action mid-match, then you’ll want to be playing with a tennis betting operator that offers a promising live-betting package.
Moreover, if live betting is your thing, then you may want to watch the action unfold. This is where live streaming comes in. Many tennis betting sites offer live streaming, but some do this better than others. An example of a top-tier live streaming tennis betting site would be bet365.
Security & trust
As an online tennis bettor you want to place bets with peace of mind. To do this you need to ensure that you’re using a trusted and secure operator. We only recommend sites that hold official licenses from recognised bodies such as the UK Gambling Commission.
Not only should you bet with tennis betting sites that hold official licences, but you should bet with trusted operators. In other words, those who have stood the test of time, those who are popular among users and have lots of positive reviews.
One word of advice would be to avoid betting sites that have gained poor user reputation and have lots of negative users reviews.
Key tennis betting features
Right, so what are some key tennis betting features to look out for? There are a few key tennis betting features to consider when choosing your tennis betting site. Let’s look at these below.
Best odds guaranteed
Now part and parcel of the online betting industry, ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ is a feature that allows a user to place a bet at a given price, but paying out at the larger price if a selection drifts in the betting.
For example, let’s say you bet on Alex De Minaur to beat Taylor Fritz at odds of 5/4 two hours before the match starts. If as the match begins, Alex De Minaur has drifted to odds of 11/8, if the bookmaker offers ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’, you’ll be paid out at the bigger odds in the event of a win.
Bet builder
Bet builders allow players to combine a number of bets on the same match, forming a multiple and thus multiplying the potential payout.
For example, if Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are playing, you may want to bet on Jannik Sinner to Win, Over 2.5 Sets, and Jannik Sinner to Win the First Set. A bet builder allows you to combine each of these selections in order to get bigger odds.
Live streaming
Live streaming allows users to watch the events that they bet on without leaving the betting platform. For example, if you bet on a tennis match at bet365, whether you’re a desktop or mobile app user, you can watch the match unfold without needing to visit another site.
Many tennis betting sites offer live streaming, but not all betting sites offer the same live streaming experience, with some offering less live streams than others.
Some betting sites allow users to access all live tennis streams as long as they’re signed up and logged in, while others require a bet on the event before access to the live stream is granted.
Live betting
As touched on above, live betting is big business these days. Millions of bettors like to bet during an event and live betting allows them to do this.
Live betting allows bettors to react to what happens during a match, placing bets accordingly. If you’re interested in live betting, then you should take into consideration what sort of live betting package is being offered by a tennis betting site.
Edit My Bet option
The clue is very much in the name here. The ‘Edit Bet’ option allows users to edit their bets after placing them. For example, you can edit the stake in ways such as decreasing it by performing a partial cash out, or increase the odds by adding further selections.
Different Types of tennis Bets
There are lots of different types of tennis bets, some of which may not make much sense to the newbie, so let’s go over the primary types of tennis bets.
Match Winner (Moneyline)
The most common type of tennis betting market is the ‘Match Winner’ market. This market allows users to bet on one of the two participating players to win the match. In American betting, the ‘Match Winner’ market is also known as the ‘Moneyline’ market.
Game Handicap
Getting slightly more complicated, the ‘Game Handicap’ market involves betting on one of the players to win or lose a match by a certain amount.
For example, ahead of a match between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, you could bet on Coco Gauff +2.5 Game Handicap. This means that she cannot lose the match by more than two games. If she wins the match or loses by only two games, say 7-6, 7-6, you win. If she loses by more than two games, say 6-4, 6-3, you lose.
Alternatively, if you bet on Coco Gauff -2.5 Game Handicap, she needs to win the match by a margin of at least three games. If she loses the match or wins by just two games, your bet will be settled as a loser.
Totals
In tennis, the ‘Totals’ market revolves around betting on the number of either games or sets that a match will contain. For example, ahead of a match at Wimbledon, you could bet on ‘Over 3.5 Sets’, meaning that for your bet to be settled as a winner, the match will need to contain at least four sets. If a player wins in straight sets (3-0), you lose.
Another example would be to bet on the number of games in a match. For example, you could bet on ‘Over 32.5 Games’ as Novak Djokovic takes on Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, meaning that at least 33 games need to be played for you to win. If less than 33 games are played, you lose.
Parlays
Parlay is an American betting term that refers to a multiple bet. In the UK betting world, we often refer to multiple bets as accumulators.
A tennis accumulator can take many forms, but the most common form is to bet on several players to win their respective matches in order to increase the potential payout.
Futures
Futures betting involves betting on the outcome of competitions that are yet to take place.
There are many examples of futures bets in the world of tennis betting, such as betting on the winner of upcoming tournaments, whether it’s Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open or the French Open.
Other forms of futures bets may include betting on a certain player to win a certain number of tournaments or to achieve something during a season. For example, ‘Iga Swiatek to win Two Grand Slams’ in 2025.
Tennis betting strategies – my guide
OK, so what about tennis betting strategy? Well, everybody is different and my key piece of advice here would be to find something that works for you.
As is the case with general betting, there are many strategies, some of which are great, many of which are utter garbage. In my opinion, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, and I certainly wouldn’t say that I use one strategy, though as someone who has bet plenty on tennis over the years, I do have a few suggestions to help you along the way.
We’re talking about tennis betting, but realistically, the following can be applied to all forms of sports betting.
Here it is, my guide (of sorts) to better tennis betting:
- Understand probabilities: Learning about probabilities and understand that betting odds are merely a reflection of implied probabilities is absolutely key.
- Learn about value: This applies to all forms of sports betting. To have any kind of success as a tennis bettor, despite what you may see on social media, you need to understand value. Know what it is, know how to identify it and know how to exploit it.
- Form your own opinion: Try to ignore the noise and form your opinion. Find your own angles and back your own opinion.
- Appreciate recency bias: Understanding and appreciating recency bias is key. A player may be generously priced because they’re going up against another player that is in hot form, but the player in hot form could very well be priced based on recent form alone, and there may well be indicators to suggest that the outsider actually has a better chance than the prices suggest.
- Look beyond the basics: Don’t base everything on basic form. A player may appear to be out of form, but there could be hidden reasons for an improved performance in their next match. Look for those reasons.
Most popular tennis tournaments to bet on
As is essentially the case with all sports, the most popular tennis tournaments are the most popular among bettors. In other words, the biggest and best tennis tournaments are the ones that attract the most betting attention.
ATP Masters
For those who don’t know, the ATP is the top men’s tennis tour. Throughout the course of an ATP season, which lasts for most of the calendar year, there are many, many tournaments, but they’re not all equal in terms of prestige.
Grand Slams are the most prestigious tournaments, but outside of that ATP Masters, otherwise known as ATP 1000 events, are top events.
Currently, during the course of a season, there are nine ATP Masters tournaments. These are:
- Indian Wells Open
- Miami Open
- Monte-Carlo Masters
- Madrid Open
- Italian Open
- Canadian Open
- Cincinnati Open
- Shanghai Masters
- Paris Masters
WTA tournaments
If you’re not overly familiar with tennis and the world of tennis betting, then the WTA Tour is the highest level of women’s tennis.
As is the case for ATP players, on the WTA, the biggest tournaments, besides Grand Slams, are the WTA 1000 events.
At the time of writing, during the course of a WTA season, there are ten WTA 1000 tournaments. These are:
- Qatar Total Open
- Dubai Tennis Championships
- Indian Wells Open
- Miami Open
- Madrid Open
- Italian Open
- Canadian Open
- Cincinnati Open
- China Open
- Wuhan Open
Australian Open
The first of the four annual Grand Slams, the Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of any calendar year, played in late January. It is situated in Melbourne, Australia and is one of the most prestigious prizes that the sport has to offer. The Australian Open is one of two hard-court Grand Slams.
French Open
Played at the world famous venue of Roland Garros in Paris, France, the French Open is tennis’ premier clay-court tournament. Taking place on a yearly basis in June, it is the only Grand Slam that is played on a clay surface.
Wimbledon
Arguably the most iconic tennis event, and probably one of the most iconic sporting events on the planet, Wimbledon is the third Grand Slam in the calendar, while it is also the only Grand Slam featuring grass courts. Centre Court at Wimbledon is perhaps the single most prestigious tennis venue in the world.
US Open
The fourth and final Grand Slam that takes place during the tennis season, typically in September, the US Open is the second hard-court Grand Slam, played at Flushing Meadows in New York, USA.