The bookmakers with the best tennis betting prices tend to be the ones who have been long-established in the industry. We can start with the big names who were around, prior to the birth of the internet, and that means Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill.
In the modern, digital age they have been joined by the likes of Betway and Unibet who were among the crop of early online tennis bookmakers. Once again, those should be familiar names to the tennis betting online community but there are some new bookies and sites to consider too. Vbet have been rising up the popularity charts and we can also throw in names such as 10Bet, SportNation and RedZone. If you’re looking for consistent value from your tennis bets, we suggest checking out those betting options as their odds should always be competitive.
Which Bookmakers Offer the Best Tennis Odds?
[bonuses id=”SPORT_MEGA”]What are the most Popular Markets?
Most punters of tennis still like to favour the most obvious option by taking a bet in the match result markets. Tennis is a sport where surprise results are relatively rare and while the betting odds on the big favourites can be short at times, those results can be easy to predict if we compare with other sports such as golf or football. It is a general truth when it comes to sports betting, but always remember to check the terms and conditions and the minimum deposit limits on certain bets to make your life easier.
Because of the earlier mention facts, some punters like to get involved in handicap betting in order to improve those tennis odds but there are plenty of additional options.
Tennis is all about point scoring so lots of prop bets revolve around this. Correct score betting is very popular and this can apply to both the overall match score and the score inside individual sets.
Live betting adds in extra options such as next set winner and even, if you’re quick enough, next point. We’ll run through some of the best tennis bets in more detail shortly but this is a sport which gives you many options.
Which Operators Offer Virtual Tennis?
Tennis is a sport which is played for most of the year but, if you find yourself with a blank day or you can’t find any interesting bets out in the real world, you could always take a look at virtual tennis. Virtual sports aren’t offered by all of the sports betting sites, however, so you need to choose the best operator carefully.
Of those who do provide virtual tennis as part of their overall sportsbook offering, Coral are always highly rated while BetFred also score highly in reviews. You can also check out those established betting sites such as William Hill and Ladbrokes. Of the newer names, LVBet and EnergyBet are among the best and come highly recommended too.
Tennis Bet Types Explained
As we’ve mentioned, tennis is a sport that provides many betting options, many bets on tennis, and here is our tennis betting guide to the best and most popular markets.
To Win
This is the easiest option to explain and it’s the place where most tennis punters start. In a match situation, it’s all about picking the best player who you think is going to win. In tennis, there is no room for a draw or tie so it’s just a straight pick between two players.
To Win bets can also be applied for long term markets such as outright tournament winner.
Set Score
In any professional tennis match, the player who is the first to reach six games will win the set. There is, however, a proviso that there must be a clear, two-game margin and a tie-break will apply if the players are tied at 6-6.
Whatever happens, there is a wide set of Set Score markets and, as the name indicates, your job is to decide what the overall score will be in a specific set. Bookmakers will list all the options, right through from 6-0 to 7-6 so, while it’s not the easiest market to predict, there is some good value to be found if you can call it correctly.
Over / Under – Total Games in a Set
Once again, this is a tennis bet that should really be self-explanatory. Here, we are looking at an individual set and deciding on how many games will be played before it is decided. As we have already seen, the minimum number of games needed is 6 while the maximum is 13.
When a bookmaker opens this market, it will set a number of lines from 6.5 up to 12.5 and your job as the bettor is to decide whether to stake above or below one or more of those lines.
Race To
With a Race To bet, the task is to bet on which player you think will be the first to reach a certain number of games within a set. It could be three, four or five depending on the bookmaker in question and you then have to select between the two opponents.
In-Play Betting and Live Streaming
Individual tennis matches can take hours to be settled so there is plenty of scope for live betting and live streaming. From the time when the very first ball is hit, those in-play markets will open and you can start to find some value among the live play.
All of the bets that we list here will be available in the live markets at tennis betting sites. So, if you are looking to take a punt on match winner, correct score, set score, winner of next set or more, those will be listed. Obviously, the list of options will start to tail off once the match starts to draw to a close but the point is that tennis is a great sport where live betting is concerned.
Lots of tennis is televised these days but another benefit of signing up with a bookmaker is the potential to access live streaming or in-play tennis. Not all betting sites do this but it is a big advantage when they do. Unibet are known for having one of the best services around but all of the big sportsbooks, including Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral, will have this type of service.
Usually, you will be expected to have funds in your account in order to access the live streaming channels while other tennis betting sites will insist that you have placed a bet on the event that is being screened. Policies differ in this respect so be sure to check on the terms and conditions.
Bonus Offers, Promotions
Tennis is such a popular sport around the betting sites that you should always be able to find a host of offers and promotions attached to it. In order to compete, sportsbooks need to keep their prices competitive while those bonuses just help to give a bit of added value.
Any promotions that are specific to tennis may only come around when the big tournaments are in play. Tennis features four ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, tennis events – Wimbledon, the US Open, The Australian Open and the French Open – and this will be a busy time for offers of this kind.
Otherwise, you can check your specific bookmaker and look to see if they have generic offers that can be used for any sport – including betting on tennis. Accumulator bets are very popular among the tennis betting community so keep a look out for the best acca boosts and acca insurance deals that are prevalent in the industry.
In summary, it is possible to find regular offers which can be used for tennis betting while for specific promos (with an individual promo code), there are possibilities but things will get especially busy when those Grand Slams come around.
Tennis Betting Strategies
As with any sport, there are a number of betting strategies for punters that can be used in the tennis markets. We would stress that nothing is ever going to be foolproof but some of these suggestions might just be worth checking out.
The first of these involves two bets – one in the ante post markets, followed by an in-play equivalent. Firstly, the punter needs a find a match where there is a clear favourite and the ante post bet then involves a small wager on the outsider.
Once the match begins, the bettor waits to see if the stronger tennis player goes 2-0 up in the first set and if this happens, they bet heavily on the favourite. The idea is to stake in such a way that a profit is guaranteed no matter what the result might be.
The second of our strategies relates exclusively to the live tennis betting markets and it involves betting on the total number of games (Over or Under) in a set. Before you act, you will need to watch the first game of a match to see how it develops. If there are more than 10.5 games played in the set, stats show that in 70% to 80% of cases, the next set will involve less than 10.5 games. Follow that first set and, if appropriate, act accordingly.
Finally, many tennis punters simply like to back the favourite on every occasion. It’s not exactly the most original of strategies but, as we have seen, tennis is a game of few upsets. Of course, those favourites will not win on every occasion so there is a bit of maths to be carried out. If you are betting on the shorter priced of the two players and they happen to lose, you simply move on to the next match and double your stake. The theory is that sooner or later, a favourite will come through and you will claim an overall profit.
Facts, Tennis Bets FAQ
Total Match Games
This is a prop bet favoured by many bettors who come to tennis and it’s an easy concept to follow. There is the possibility of playing at least 39 games in a three set tennis match while, at the other end of the scale, it takes a minimum of 12 games to win.
In between those two numbers, is a whole set of figures which can be required to win a match and, as a punter, you have the opportunity to take a bet in this respect. It may be possible to find bets relating to the exact number of games but in all probability, it will be a case of finding a set of lines and betting Over or Under one of those lines.
Game Handicap Betting
Handicap betting is popular in a number of sports and tennis is no exception. In this case, we are literally ‘handicapping’ one of the tennis players by giving his or her opponent a head start in terms of games or sets. Having done that, we need to bet on the original player to win, while overcoming that notional disadvantage on the way.
As we mentioned, tennis can be a game with little in the way of surprise results so this can be a good way of getting better value on one of the favourites. Nearly all betting sites will publish tennis odds in the handicap market so, if you are experienced with this type of bet or are interested in getting involved, the options should be easy to find.
Lose First Set, Win the Match
To round off, we come to another bet that should be self explanatory. Here, we are looking for a specific tennis player to win the match after losing the first set.
Remember that outside of those Grand Slam events, the majority of professional tennis matches – both for men and women – are played over the best of three sets so it’s a tough test for the player to come from behind and win but it’s certainly not a rare event. This option is ideal if you think you have found a player who is a slow starter and it can carry some generous tennis odds at times.
Types of Tennis Events
Davis Cup
There are a small number of team events in tennis but this is by far the biggest. The Davis Cup was first held back in 1900 and it’s a time when nations put together a team who they think are capable of bringing home the trophy. It’s also a time when tennis odds become even more competitive so we can expect the tennis betting community to do their best to get heavily involved.
Historically, the United States of America have been the most successful team in Davis Cup history and that’s also the case in the modern era. As of 2020, America have won nine titles since 1972 and their closest challengers are Sweden with seven wins.
It’s an interesting competition as the best tennis betting sites open up their list of markets. You can still bet on individual match results and all the usual prop bets but the nature of the Davis Cup means that there are additional options such as correct score and, possibly, which players will win the most team points.
US Open
Tennis provides four Grand Slam events across the calendar year and, in chronological terms, this is the last of them. The US Open can be expected to commence on the final Monday in August and it will cross into September – concluding two weeks later.
The competition was first held way back in 1881 and is therefore one of the oldest sporting competitions in the United States. The magnitude of this ensures that there will be a strong field taking part and, that leads to an increase in activity as far as the tennis odds markets are concerned.
Don’t forget that, along with the men’s and women’s singles events, this is a full tournament with options for men’s, women’s and mixed doubles too.
Wimbledon
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships is the second of the four Grand Slam events and it’s certainly the most glamorous. It’s the only one of those majors to still be played on grass and arguably this is the busiest time for punters and for those tennis odds setters.
This tournament just beats the US Open for longevity as it was first held in 1877 and for many players, this is the one that they desperately want to win. Look out for Wimbledon across June and July each year but the best tennis betting sites get their ante post markets up many months in advance.
As with the US Open, this is one of those tennis tournaments where there are active markets for all doubles tournaments as well as the men’s and women’s singles.
ATP World Tour
The ATP World Tour is the all-encompassing name for a group of tennis tournaments on the men’s circuit. It’s played all year round and this is when the serious members of the betting community like to take advantage of the tennis odds on a regular basis.
All four of the GS events are contained within the ATP World Tour but these are just a few of the many competitions taking place across the calendar year. The full list of events is far too comprehensive to list here but it would include the Rotterdam Open, the Queen’s Club Championships, the Barcelona Open and the German Open.
The majority of these tournaments offer ranking points and, at the end of the season, the highest ranked players are invited to take part in the ATP Finals. While the major, Grand Slam tennis tournaments may take the sports headlines, the ATP World Tour provides the ‘bread and butter’ for male professionals so you can be certain of betting opportunities all year round.
WTA Tour
For female tennis players, the equivalent of the ATP World Tour is the WTA Tour. This is the top tier as far as the women are concerned and, once again, it offers a very busy schedule. This series also includes the four Grand Slams – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and, like the men, this offers a season-ending spectacular which is known as the WTA Tour Championships.
There are around 60 tournaments each year so it is a gruelling schedule. Even the top players won’t be taking part in each individual competition but it does mean that there is always something for sports bettors to enjoy and an active list of betting odds markets across the year. The list of tournaments is a comprehensive one but the bigger competitions are known as ‘Premier Tournaments’ and these include the Brisbane International, the Rogers Cup, the China Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ATP Masters Series
The Masters series is a name given to a specific set of tennis tournaments on the men’s circuit. Behind the Grand Slams and the ATP Finals, they are considered to be the third most important competitions for male players. Prize money is increased for these events and, once again, it’s a time when the community comes together to seek out the best available sites for tennis betting.
Some of the standout competitions within the ATP Masters series include the Madrid Open, the Miami Open, the Indian Wells Masters, the Canadian Open and the Paris Masters. They are spread out quite evenly across the sports calendar year so you shouldn’t have to wait too long for one of these tennis tournaments to come along.
Mobile Tennis Betting
This is a sport where in-play betting fits in perfectly and you can always expect the best betting odds in the live markets. Betting in play on any sport is made easier with mobile apps and websites but they can also be useful when staking ahead of individual matches and tennis tournaments.
If you are looking to get involved with in-play betting options, all of the usual markets are available including match winner and set score but live tennis odds can also offer additional punts such as next set winner and, if you’re quick enough, next point winner.
Those odds can change very quickly and you therefore need to be prepared if you are going to take part in mobile tennis betting. All sportsbooks will have a mobile betting site but the best way in which to access the live markets is via an app.
Most, but not all tennis bookmakers will now have an app available for iPhone and Android. It should be free, fast to download and will have the same design and functionality as the main site. We would suggest that an app is a must if you’re taking part in the live tennis markets but its flexibility makes it a good option for ante post staking too.
