How We Choose the Best Tennis Betting Sites
In an abundance of online betting sites out there, the majority of them offer the possibility of tennis betting online as well. But not all those websites are equal, and finding the best tennis betting sites is certainly what you are aiming for when looking for your next favourite sportsbook.
There are many factors that determine whether a betting site is good or not before you can decide which ones are the best and right for you. We suggest that you start by checking the sportsbook’s licence and its website security. Every sports betting site should have licence information listed on the website, typically at the bottom of the homepage.
Every sportsbook listed on our website is licensed, and you can read our expert reviews to learn more about each of them. Make sure also to read the players’ reviews to learn more about what kind of reputation the sportsbook has among fellow bettors who enjoy betting on tennis. Apart from those basic factors, here are some other crucial things we look into when choosing the best tennis betting sites:
Welcome Bonuses & Other Promotions
Welcome bonuses are a big deal when betting on sports because they are the first thing you encounter when you open an account at a new sportsbook. Sometimes, a sportsbook has multiple welcome bonus offers you can choose from, and sometimes, there is only one offer, but it could be one that is attractive enough to make it worth your while.
A welcome bonus can come in the form of a deposit match, usually up to a certain percentage and amount. You can also receive a free bet or a risk-free bet with your deposit that you can use under the terms that the sportsbook sets. Make sure to read the terms and conditions of the bonus offer so you don’t encounter any issues later.
Apart from the welcome bonuses, sportsbooks offer other types of bonuses to their bettors, like referral bonuses, enhanced odds bonuses, cashbacks, or weekly bonus offers, to name a few.
Tennis Betting Odds
When looking at the long-term benefits of a sportsbook, finding one with competitive odds is vital because it means that you will be winning slightly more with each win than you would with a sportsbook that offers smaller odds.
Good tennis betting sites should offer odds that are at least in line with their competitors, but the best ones should provide even slightly better odds across the most popular tennis markets. And we don’t mean just during major tournaments, but constantly offer better odds to attract and retain bettors.
Tennis Betting Markets
Speaking of tennis betting markets, there is a variety that we expect a reputable sportsbook to offer. Starting from the regular betting types like parlay, over/under or handicap bets, a sportsbook should also offer sport-specific markets, like an outright winner (for the tournament winner), betting on the match outcome, or the number of sets or games in the match.
In-Play Betting
In-play betting is a crucial part of a sportsbook’s offering. Many bettors enjoy placing their bets while the tennis match is ongoing because it is dynamic and requires you to follow the action live. In-play odds change constantly as the match develops, and the sportsbook practically gives players a second chance at correcting their pre-match bet if a crucial development occurs at the beginning of the event.
When something big happens during the match that completely changes the course of action like the underdog winning the first set, the odds that a sportsbook offers should reflect that change and allow you to bet on that player to win or the favourite to make a big comeback. Live odds can be quite generous if you catch them at the right time, and that’s what makes tennis in play betting so popular and exciting for bettors.
Live Streaming
Live streaming is an important feature for tennis bettors because it is good to have the possibility to observe the match and check the latest developments live as they happen. In tennis, a player’s game can change after a set is complete, and two sets sometimes look nothing alike.
Live streaming might not be the most important feature when it comes to major events as they are often broadcast on TV, but smaller tournaments can be neglected in that matter, so it’s good to get live streaming of the action to make live tennis betting easier.
Types of Bets: Popular Tennis Betting Markets
The best tennis betting sites will offer multiple tennis betting markets to their bettors. We call them tennis betting markets because they are sport-specific, like the types of bets you can find for other sports, for example, when betting on volleyball online. Here are some of the popular tennis betting markets:
- Match winner: This one is pretty straightforward, and it means that you can place a bet on the player you think will win the match.
- First set winner: If you feel particularly confident that you can guess who will win the first set of the match you wish to bet on, this is the market for you. As this one requires a bit more knowledge about the players involved, you can do your research beforehand if you are not a huge tennis connoisseur or if you are not familiar with the players.
- Set betting: To win the bet, you will need to predict the winner and the final score in sets. For example, if you are betting on a men’s Grand Slam match, you will need to get the winner right, and if the score is 3:0, 3:1 or 3:2, as men’s Grand Slam matches are the only matches where the winner is the one that wins 3 sets.
- Total games: Another pretty self-explanatory betting market where you will need to predict the total number of games played in the match to win.
- Next game: The next game is an in-play tennis betting market, and it requires that you watch the match or at least follow the developments to predict who will win the next game. The odds are typically higher when you anticipate a player to break another player’s serve.
- Handicap betting: The handicap betting in tennis can be for either the number of sets or games in the match. A handicap is set to level the ground a bit and provide better odds when betting on a strong favourite to win the match. For example, if the handicap is set at 6.5 games, you bet on the favourite to win, and that player wins the match by a smaller margin in terms of won games, you lose the bet.
Sportsbooks offer more tennis betting markets, like predicting the tournament winner. You can also bet that a player will lose the first set but win the match in the end. There are many possibilities, so you just need to figure out what you are comfortable with before placing your bets.
Strategies for Betting On Tennis
Betting on tennis becomes much easier and more interesting when you have a strategy in place, especially if you are not the one to experiment with your betting. Here are some strategies and tactics bettors rely on when placing tennis bets:
- Betting on a favourite: Betting on a favourite could be a good idea, but you have to know that the odds are typically lower when you bet on a strong favourite. The odds improve as the tournament progresses because they usually face tougher opponents later on. Handicap bets could be an interesting choice of market when it comes to betting on a favourite.
- Checking the statistics and betting on a match winner: If you are not too familiar with how the two players play on the court surface where the tournament is played and what is their current and all-time statistics when it comes to playing on that surface, you can find the official statistics online and base your bet on how you anticipate the match will turn out.
- Researching the opposing players and betting on a surface favourite: This is a valid strategy when you are betting on a match of two opponents that have faced each other regularly on different surfaces. Look into their previous matches to discover who bested whom and on which surface, as some players can play a much better game on one surface than on the other. It’s possible that one of the opponents plays best on clay, but the other prefers a hard surface court, which will tell you who to back if the match is played on clay, for example, and the players are of a similar ranking.
- Choosing the betting market: If you are backing a favourite, a good tactic could be to place a handicap bet. Also, if you are familiar with the player’s form and, for example, surface preference and dominance, you can place a set bet for the maximum win. Choosing a betting market based on your strategy is also a part of the strategy you can implement when you bet on multiple matches and tournaments.
Popular Tournaments for Tennis Betting Online
As we said, a tennis season lasts almost throughout the entire year, with a month or so breaks for most tennis players. During the season, there are four major tournaments on both the ATP and the WTA tour, the Grand Slams. Next in line are the Masters 1000 series tournaments, the end-of-the-season Masters, the 500 and 250 series tournaments, and so on.
Let’s take a brief look at the biggest tennis tournaments throughout the year:
Australian Open
It’s the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, played in January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament has been played on a hard surface since 1988, and before that, it was played on grass since its inception in 1905. The reigning champions are Elena Rybakina and Jannick Sinner, while Margaret Court holds the record for most women’s singles titles, and Novak Djokovic holds the record for most men’s single titles. The prize money for 2024 was A$86,500,000.
Roland Garros
Roland Garros (The French Open) is the second Grand Slam of the season, played in Paris, France, at the end of May every year. The tournament was founded in 1899 and has been played on clay since 1908. The reigning champions are Iga Świątek and Novak Djokovic, and the record holders for most titles are Chris Evert and Rafael Nadal. The prize money for 2023 was €49,600,000.
Wimbledon
The home of Wimbledon is the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, and it is played in July. Some people consider Wimbledon the unofficial tennis world championship as it’s the most famous tennis tournament in the world, so Wimbledon betting is quite popular, too. It was founded in 1877 and has been played on the grass surface ever since. Markéta Vondroušová and Carlos Alcaraz won the tournament in singles in 2023, and the record holders with the most singles titles are Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer. The prize money in 2023 was £44,700,000.
US Open
The final Grand Slam of the year is played in New York, USA, at the end of August and the beginning of September. It was founded in 1881 and has been played on a hard surface since 1978. The current champions are Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic, and the record holders are Molla Mallory and Bill Tilden. The prize fund for 2023 was $65,000,020.
WTA 1000 tournaments and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments
Next in line when it comes to awarded points and prize money are the Masters 1000 tournaments. The WTA tour features ten of these tournaments, and the ATP nine. They are played around the world, and they are popular among fans and bettors everywhere.
The ATP Finals
The ATP Finals is the final Masters tournament of the season on the ATP tour, played by the eight best players in the current year.
The WTA Finals
The WTA Finals is, of course, the final tournament on the WTA tour, played on the same principle as the ATP finals.
Next in rank are the ATP and WTA 500 tournaments, then 250, and so on. All these tournaments are popular for tennis online betting, and you will certainly find sportsbooks that offer odds for many levels of tennis tournaments.
