How To Bet On Tennis?

Where Is Tennis Betting Legal?

In the United States, betting on tennis – and other sports – is legal depending on the state in which you are located. Until May of 2018, there was a federal ban on sports betting in the U.S.A., but that changed when the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Now the issue is up to the individual states.

As of today, The following states all have a legal and regulated sports betting industry, where you can bet on Tennis:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Washington DC
• West Virginia

Best Online Tennis Betting Sites and Mobile Apps

There are plenty of betting websites and mobile apps that you can use when looking to place a wager on tennis. How do you find the one that is best for you? Well, odds can differ slightly from sportsbook to sportsbook and it would obviously be advantageous to give yourself multiple options by shopping at various books to find the best prices. Some books will offer parlay insurances, promotions, and odds boosts that others may not. You can also find tennis props at some sites that may not be available at others.

How To Bet On Tennis

Placing a bet on tennis sounds simple enough, but if you want to do it successfully it requires multiple steps – all of which are important. You should start the process, of course, by figuring out what bet you should make. At Pickswise, we have expert handicappers who do much of the work for you by researching players, results, tournaments, etc. and breaking down statistics, previewing matches, making predictions and more. We post the odds that are being offered by various legal sportsbooks, as well. Be sure to check out our tennis analysis all year long (there are 4 Grand Slam events every year and the tennis offseason is one of the shortest in sports) to help you bet better.

Once you decide on a wager to place, the next step is to determine the best site or app at which to do so. Most books will have a tennis tab either in the left column or at the top, which will then take you to the tennis markets that are available such as matches, futures, props and – if applicable – promos and odds boosts. Locate the desired market, add the desired play to your bet slip, and then lock in your wager with the submit, bet, confirm, or applicable button.

 Ways To Bet On Tennis

There are many ways to bet on tennis, which is becoming increasingly popular among bettors in the United States and around the world. It offers all kinds of betting options because there are so many different tournaments around the world at so many different levels – the main tour, Challengers, Futures, ITF, etc. (Challengers, Futures, and ITFs are the proverbial minor leagues of tennis, all of which are extremely popular among bettors). Tennis markets generally available at most sportsbooks are single match, futures and occasionally – especially during the biggest tournaments – player props.

Outright Tournament Winner Betting  

The most popular tennis futures bet is on a player to win a certain tournament. These bets are generally made before the tournament starts. It’s a market that remains open throughout each tournament, but odds are obviously adjusted as results come in and players either advance or are eliminated; the best value can often be found prior to day one. In this market, the player you bet on must win the title in order for the wager to be successful. If you bet on Rafael Nadal to win the French Open and he loses in the final, the bet is lost. In most cases, even the tournament favorite goes off at plus money. There are some exceptions, of course, as Novak Djokovic is sometimes so dominant in the men’s game that he is occasionally favored against the entire field. Nadal has frequently begun the French Open as a minus-money favorite.

Of all the tournaments, the 4 Grand Slams are by far the biggest and most important. They obviously inspire the most betting – especially on the futures market. In chronological order on the annual calendar, they are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Money Line

Money line betting is when you place a wager on a player to win a match outright. It doesn’t matter if that player wins 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 or in a 5-set, 5-hour thriller; all wins are the same. Similarly, it doesn’t matter if the player you bet on loses badly or loses an incredibly competitive match; a loss is a loss. If you bet on a favorite on the money line, the payout will be much less than if you bet on him or her on the game spread or set spread. Similarly, the payout for an underdog on the money line will be much greater than if you take the game spread or set spread.

Set Spread Betting

Set spread betting is when you place a wager or someone to win by more than a certain number of sets or to stay within a certain number of sets even in a loss. Most tennis tournaments play best-of-3 sets (first to 2), with the exception being the men’s side at a Grand Slam. In best-of-3, the set spread will be plus or minus 1.5 sets. A favorite must win 2 sets to 0 to cover -1.5 sets; a +1.5 underdog must either win the match or lose 2 sets to 1 in order to  cover +1.5 sets. In best-of-5, set spreads could be plus or minus 1.5 or 2.5. A -2.5 favorite at a Grand Slam would have to win 3 sets to 0 to cover. A -1.5 favorite could win either 3 sets to 0 or 3 sets to 1. A +2.5 underdog would only have to win 1 set; a 3 sets to 1 loss would get the job done.

Game Spread Betting

Game spread betting is extremely popular, similar to point spread betting in most other sports. In tennis, the game spread refers to the difference in games (game is not to be confused with match!) won by the 2 players. Each set is to 6 games win by 2, with a tiebreaker played at 6-6. Thus any set can be won by as little as 1 game (7-6) or as many as 6 (6-0). In a best-of-three match, Iga Swiatek could be a -3.5 game favorite over Victoria Azarenka. If Swiatek prevails 6-4, 6-4, she wins 4 more games than Azarenka and covers; if Swiatek loses or wins something like 7-6, 7-5 (3-game margin), Azarenka covers. In a best-of-5 match, Carlos Alcaraz could be a -5.5 favorite over Alexander Zverev. If Alcaraz prevails 6-1, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, he wins 6 more games than Zverev and covers. If Alcaraz loses or wins something like 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 (5-game margin), Zverev covers.

Live Betting

Live, in-game betting in tennis is an option just as it is in basically every sport (except for maybe a 100-meter dash in the Olympics that lasts 10 seconds!). In fact, tennis may be the most popular sport in the world to live bet. Any sport in which a lot of points are played is going to create many momentum swings, frequent odds movements, and therefore new betting opportunities. In tennis, of course, points are played – and won – every few seconds. Odds can go crazy throughout an entire match. A favorite can lose the first set and become an underdog. In a tiebreaker, a dramatic shift in the odds can hinge on a single point. If 2 players are even at 5-5 in a final-set tiebreaker, for example, whoever wins the next point is going to be 1 point away from winning. He or she will obviously become a big favorite after that one point. Such wild swings in odds make for a wild – and potentially lucrative – live betting market.

Prop Betting

Whereas live betting is a massive market in tennis, props are not. The reason is simple: there are far fewer individual statistics in tennis – at least compared to football, basketball, soccer, etc. Yes there are winners, unforced errors, volleys, forehands, backhands, and more, but those are generally tracked only at the biggest events and even at the slams those are not available for betting. Aces and double-faults are the only player props that are readily available in the biggest matches like Grand Slam finals.

Parlays

A parlay is a type of bet in which multiple bets are included in the same overall bet, and every leg must be successful in order for that overall bet to be a winner. It is generally a riskier play for bettors given that more than one successful outcome is needed, but the obvious benefit is that the payout is higher than it is for a standard, single bet. In tennis (and most other sports), you can combine bets on the spreads, money line, and game totals in the same parlay. For example, you could have Elena Rybakina to cover a -1.5 set spread against Sloane Stephens, Djokovic on the money line against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Aryna Sabalenka to cover a -2.5 game spread against Paula Badosa. If Rybakina wins 2-0, Djokovic beats Tsitsipas by any score and Sabalenka defeats Badosa 7-6, 6-2, the 3-leg parlay is a winner. But if Rybakina wins 2-1 instead of 2-0, that leg is unsuccessful and the entire parlay is lost even though the other 2 legs were winners.

Five Ways To Bet Better On Tennis  

1. Bet underdogs on the money line. Both the individuality of tennis and the rigors of the sport can make favorites ripe for an upset. To say that it is a physically demanding sport would be a gross understatement, and the grueling nature of every season can break down any player’s body by the end of the year. Especially toward the end of the season, almost every man or woman on tour is dealing with some nagging injuries and could be more likely to turn in a worse performance than the markets would suggest. But really from start to finish on the calendar, there is more money-line value on big underdogs than there is on big favorites. Yes, you can often find value on favorites in the -115 to -250 range, but the risk/reward aspect on bigger favorites generally isn’t worth it.
2. Play favorites in a parlay. Put 2 sizable favorites together and the return on investment for a pair of victories would be valuable. Example: if you parlay a -200 favorite and a -300 favorite and they both take care of business, that parlay pays out even money at +100. Sure, -200 to -300 favorites are never quite absolute locks; but you can often find some in that odds range that are pretty darn close to lock status.
3. Play favorites on the spread instead of the money line. If you want to stick to single matches by themselves, the aforementioned game spreads and set spreads usually yield better value when it comes to favorites than does the money line. With occasional exceptions, I would much rather take a big favorite to win in straight sets at a Grand Slam (-2.5 sets) at something like -150 than the same favorite on the money line at something like -500.
4. Pay extremely close attention to court surfaces. You can find great value in tennis this way, and the difference in surfaces is one reason why tennis betting is so intriguing. Basically every other sport is played on a single surface. Yes, American football can be played on either grass or turf – but that is never going to swing any line more than point or. Tennis, on the other hand, can be played on an outdoor hard court, an indoor hard court (often much different conditions than outdoors), indoor carpet, clay, or grass. And the surface on which a match is played is quite often decisive. Obvious examples such as Nadal vs. Roger Federer won’t fool oddsmakers, but there are a lot of cases that do.
5. This can change from year to year, but in general on the futures market you should hammer men’s favorites and women’s underdogs to win tournaments. There is far more parity in the women’s game now that Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty have retired. On the men’s side, Djokovic was utterly dominant in 2021 and even Nadal – when healthy – is still close to the top. 

Tennis Betting Strategies

Basic
As is the case with betting on any sport, it is important to establish your bankroll when it comes to betting on tennis. In the worst case scenario, what is the most you are willing to lose in a tournament or maybe in a month – or a whole season? What is the max you would be willing to bet on a single match when you have a lot of confidence? After establishing these kinds of parameters, the next step is to familiarize yourself with the sport and its players. Become knowledgeable about as many players as possible and stay up to date with the latest news, scores, injuries, etc.

Intermediate 

As you become more experienced with tennis betting, you will naturally find your niche with respect to what players, tournaments, markets, etc. you enjoy betting on and bring you success. Where do you get your edge betting on tennis? Answer that question based on the data you have compiled on your betting history and continue to exploit that edge. There are so many different tournaments and levels of the sport around the world, so tennis bettors can have very different specialties. Remember to take a look at various sportsbooks and betting apps to find the one that offers the best odds on a certain market, or one that offers an intriguing prop that you might not be able to play elsewhere.

Advanced
The best and most accurate way to find the aforementioned edge is to keep a log of your tennis betting. Track all of your bets – including the size, player(s), outcome and also the units won or lost (you can keep track of your winnings in terms of both actual money and units, but units are a more accurate representation of your success). Make sure to break it down player by player and tournament by tournament, so you can pinpoint your most (and least) successful betting areas. Watch as much tennis as possible, because it will help you rely on your own instincts as opposed to the opinions of experts and analysts. You can even make your own weekly power rankings as you become familiar with all of the players. Your rankings can give you a reference point for making a bet when 2 players in your rankings are going head-to-head. You might want to have rankings for all of the different surfaces – hard courts, clay and grass. It is massively important in tennis to understand which players are better or worse on certain surfaces. For example, Nadal is always a better bet on clay than he is on grass; Federer was the opposite.

Things To Avoid When Betting On Tennis  

• Don’t bet blindly just based on rankings. As mentioned above, far more factors go into a match than just how high two players are ranked. Don’t place a wager on someone who is ranked No. 37 just because they are facing an opponent ranked No. 102. It could be a match on clay in which the world No. 102 is a clay-court specialist and the world No. 37 is a big server who loves grass. Or what if a higher-ranked player suffered a minor knee injury in his or her previous match a day earlier? All of these things – and more – must be researched and considered.
  
• Don’t give up on tennis betting just because of a few bad beats. There are a lot of bad beats in tennis betting – even more in individual matches than in futures. That’s just the nature of the scoring system, as discussed above. Your player can be within one point of winning and cashing, and then a few minutes later he or she may have suddenly lost the match. Hopefully (and perhaps “probably” if you adhere to the strategies above) you will come out on the right side of such close calls more often than not.

Pickswise is the home of free Tennis Picks and Tennis Predictions. Check our expert tennis picks today. Our handicappers provide expert insight throughout all of the major tournaments on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour.