The second tennis Grand Slam of the year is arguably the most intriguing of the four, with a rich history and list of past winners reading like a ‘who’s who’ of tennis greats. But picking the best French Open betting sites is easier said than done. We’re about to help you with all of that.
The French Open at a Glance
The French Open, also commonly known as Roland Garros, is the second Grand Slam of the year in chronological order, being played in late May.
Officially, as the French Open rather than Roland Garros, it’s been played since 1891, so there have been 128 editions of it, with 94 of them considered Grand Slam events, the first of which was in 1925. It’s the only one of the four played on clay.
One of the key years in the history of the French Open is 1928, a year after the famous four Mousquetaires, which included the great Rene Lacoste, had defeated the US in a Davis Cup tie in Philadelphia.
The French Tennis Federation got three hectares of land from the Stade de France on which to build a new national tennis stadium with multiple courts. The only stipulation was that it should be named after Roland Garros, a World War I air force pilot considered a national hero.
The Federation agreed to the request, built the stadium featuring clay courts, beat the US in the Davis Cup tie in 1928 and held the first-ever French Open at Roland Garros later that year.
With the exception of a couple of editions during the Second World War years when the tournament wasn’t played at all, it’s been held there every year since.
How Does French Open Qualifying Work?
The top 104 players based on world rankings automatically qualify. If one or more of those are injured or unavailable, then the next players in the rankings will take their place.
The second route is if the player is lucky enough to be picked by the tournament organisers as a Wildcard. Wildcard picks at Roland Garros tend to be French players who didn’t qualify via the rankings or other popular players who have fallen down the rankings but are still a big draw for the crowds.
The final path is via qualifying, where the player will have to win three rounds to make it into the main draw. This will happen to 16 players, with a further three ‘lucky losers’ making it through this way, taking the total number of players up to 128.
How to Bet on French Open
Whether you’re into tennis betting in general or just want to learn how to bet on Roland Garros as a one-off, you’re going to know how to go through all the necessary steps to get your money down on Roland Garros betting. Here’s what you need to do.
- Open an account at one of the best French Open betting sites we recommend in our sportsbook reviews.
- If you’re looking to claim their welcome offer, which can often be used for French Open tennis betting, remember to check whether there are any deposit methods you must/ can't use in order to make your first deposit.
- Navigate to the A-Z of sports on the left-hand column of the French Open betting site and click on tennis, followed by Roland Garros/French Open.
- Choose whether you want to bet on an outright market (like the winner or to make the final) or an individual match.
- Choose the betting market you want to play, pick the selection at the available odds and select your stake.
- If you have a French Open tennis betting bonus to use, such as a free bet or Boosted Odds selection, now is the time to use it. You’ll probably need to tick a box so the French Open betting site knows you want to use the bonus rather than your own money.
Popular French Open Betting Markets
Gone are the days when the established and new betting sites only offered a handful of different tennis betting markets. These days, there are hundreds, but these remain some of the most popular ones.
Outright Winner
Who’s going to go all the way? The cream does tend to rise to the top at the Grand Slams across the different categories, so avoiding big outsiders is usually the way to go.
Though you can bet on the market months in advance, it’s also an in-play betting market, meaning you can place wagers in between rounds, rather than just before the start of the event.
Match Result
Probably the most popular market for French open tennis betting. A straightforward case of betting on Player A or Player B (or the team in case of doubles) to win the match, also remembering that this too is an in-play market.
So, a good strategy may be to wait till the player you think will win the match goes behind a break, before backing them in live betting at bigger odds.
Set Betting
One of the set bets is ‘to win in straight sets’, because one of the options is that Player A or B will win in straight sets. So if it’s Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner, you could choose to bet on 3-2 Alcaraz, or 3-1 Sinner.
If you go for a 3-0 Alcaraz, that is the ‘Alcaraz to win in straight sets’, which is significantly more risky.
To Reach the Final
Some top-class players have the ability to make the final, but for whatever reason, can’t quite close the deal once they get there. A good example of that is Norwegian Casper Ruud, who made the Men’s French Open betting final in 2022 and 2023, only to lose on both occasions.
How to Pick The Best French Open Betting Site
There are lots of French Open betting sites out there, that much we know. But which are the best Roland Garros betting sites? The ones that tick the most boxes and give you the best all-around experience for betting on this wonderful event? This is how we pick them.
Competitive Odds
Perhaps the most important element of all when it comes to French Open tennis betting is the quality of the odds. Irrespective of whether you’re backing short-priced favourites or big outsiders, that extra little bit of value in the odds goes a long way.
Variety of Betting Markets
We’ve mentioned some of the main ones in the section above, but when it comes to the best French Open betting sites, those are just the tip of the iceberg. Others include game-by-game betting, set winner, who will serve the most aces and what the correct score will be in the ongoing set, many of which are also offered in-play.
The more of these markets that are on offer, the better, as different tennis punters obviously have different preferences.
Betting Bonuses and Promotions
These days, most French Open betting sites will give you a free bet as a reward for opening an account with them and placing a qualifying bet. The smaller the qualifying bet, the greater the value of the free bet and the more flexibility in terms of how you can use it, the better.
But beyond that welcome offer, we reward bookmakers that also offer odds boosts, acca insurance, cashback on bets that were unlucky to lose and other bonuses around the French Open that give you more bang for your buck.
Payment Methods and Security
Security involves the bookie:
- holding a respected gambling license like that of the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gambling Authority
- making sure your money and data are safe
- acting in an ethical manner towards customers at all times
- processing withdrawals within a reasonable amount of time, rather than unnecessarily delaying the process.
Payment methods relate to the debit cards, bank transfers and e-wallets available for both deposits and withdrawals. Ideally, we’d like to see a good mix of the different types of payment options, with instant deposits and fast withdrawals that shouldn’t take more than a day to be processed, without additional fees.
Customer Support
The first thing to look for is for their CS agents to be available 24/7, or at least during office hours. The best French Open betting sites should also make at least these methods of communication available: e-mail, phone, and live chat.
Others, like social media channels, are a bonus. And of course, the agents should be knowledgeable, polite and efficient in dealing with your queries.
French Open Betting Strategy and Tips
As we always say here at AskGamblers, you’re not going to master betting on a particular sport in one day, and that’s certainly true of French Open tennis betting. However, here are a few basic strategies to help you get started.
Plucky Underdogs Can Strike
It’s somewhat unlikely that a 10.0 shot will go on and win the match, but they may draw first blood before the big favourite gets into their rhythm. So, a good strategy might be to back the underdog to win the first set at around 3.5 and then not worry about whether the favourite hits back, or not.
Let the Stats Guide Your In-Play Betting
A player facing a break point will drift in their odds in live betting because having their service broken seriously damages their chances of at least winning the set.
However, if you know that a particular player, for example, Jannik Sinner, has an excellent record when it comes to saving break points, you can back him at bigger odds ahead of those clutch points. The same goes for players who have a good record of converting break points.
Guaranteeing Yourself a Profit
Let’s go back to the 10.0 underdog and let’s say that it’s Taylor Fritz up against Carlos Alcaraz. And let’s say Fritz goes 2-0 up in sets and is now the 1.6 favourite with Alcaraz 2.4.
What now? The brave punter may just let the bet ride and hope Fritz can seal the deal. However, there are ways to guarantee a profit on whichever of the two wins.
If you’re betting on the Betfair Exchange, you can back-to-lay your selection (or lay to back). At a fixed odds bookie, you can use the Cash Out function (if available) to secure yourself a winner. Alternatively, if Cash Out isn’t available, back Alcaraz now at 2.4, and you’ll win whichever of the two comes good.
The French Open: Roland Garros Facts & Stats
And now let’s round things off with some quirky facts and stats about this great tournament.
- Rafael Nadal holds the record for most singles titles won, winning a total of 13 titles.
- Chris Evert leads the way in the women’s game with seven Roland Garros titles.
- Monica Seles is the youngest winner, winning the tournament at 16 years and 6 months old in 1990.
- The oldest female player to win Roland Garros is Serena Williams at 33 years and eight months in 2015.
- Michael Chang holds the honour of being the youngest winner in the men’s game at 17 years and three months in 1989.
- The first French players to win Roland Garros were Mary Pierce in 2000 and the great entertainer that was Yannick Noah in 1983.
