Betting on Tennis – Everything You Need to Know

March 14, 2023

It seems like everyone is familiar with the sport of tennis and how exactly it works. It is a pretty straightforward individual game, so it is easy to see why sports fans love it so much.

But how much do you know about tennis betting? If you are a new punter in the betting world, we reckon not too much, as betting on tennis is much different from other sports.

One striking difference to note first is that there is no possibility for a draw in tennis. One player needs to come away with a win by getting more points over a different number of sets.

So, how exactly does betting on tennis work? Let’s take a closer look and see all the essentials you need to know before you start your betting adventure.

How to Start Betting on Tennis

Let’s start with the basics here. Before you understand how betting on tennis works, you need to learn how you can begin your wagering adventure.

Thankfully, placing a tennis bet is very similar to betting on any other sport. There are some common steps that we can recommend here, so you can start your tennis betting journey much easier.

Find a Reliable Tennis Betting Site

First, you need to know that whenever you place any bet, your sensitive data will be secure. The last thing you want is to be a victim of fraud, so a reputable site like sportsbet.io is a must.

The operator holds a valid license, and it has integrated all necessary security measures to ensure you always bet on a safe platform. Moreover, the site has a mobile version as well, so you can place your tennis bets from any place at any time, as long as you have a stable internet connection.

Create an Account

Now that you know which site to choose for your tennis bets, you can proceed with creating an account at your desired bookmaker.

That is a process that shouldn’t take long, given that you provide the necessary information correctly. Fill in the required field with information such as your email, password, username, country, and currency, and you can be done within minutes.

Choose a Payment Method and Make Your First Deposit

The next step would be to head to the Cashier section of the website and select one of the available payment methods.

Reliable sites will have plenty of payment options for you, so choose the most convenient one. Then, it will be time for you to choose the amount to deposit and complete the transaction.

Start Betting

Next up, the fun part can begin, as you can start selecting the markets and your bets for those markets. Head to the tennis section of the sports betting site, select a market, and click on it. Choose how much you want to bet on that market, and you are all done! Hopefully, you will secure some handsome wins early on!

Common Tennis Betting Types

Well, it is time to get a bit more into detail on the various types of bets you can use for your favorite tennis players, matches, and tournaments.

It is very important for you to understand all possible betting types before you start wagering real money. So, let’s take a closer look at the most popular betting types for tennis.

Match Betting

We begin with the basics here, with a match bet determining who is the winner of a certain game. So, you are not betting on a tournament or a competition, but on a single match.

There is no draw in tennis, so you can only pick one of the players you think will win the match. Of course, the odds here depend on the expected outcome, with the favorites having lower odds than the underdogs. This is common for all sports, not just tennis.

However, surprises do happen in tennis, so just because a player has lower odds does not mean that they will certainly win the match.

Set Bets

Following that, we have set betting, which is also quite popular among tennis bettors. It means that you need to get the result of the tennis sets correctly. Once again, you bet on two outcomes of a tennis set.

Bookies will provide a line for possible outcomes in two of the three outcomes of a three-set game. As you would expect, this type of bet has much better odds than if you decide to bet just on the outcome of one set alone.

Over/Under

Over/under bets are very common in the sports betting industry for various sports, not just tennis. For all tennis lovers, you need to know that over/under bets are usually used to determine the number of sets a game will take to complete.

So, you don’t bet on the winner; instead, you bet on how long the match will last. Arguably the most popular betting market for over/under bets is over/under 2.5.

Scorecast

A scorecast bet is a bit more complicated than the previously mentioned bet types for tennis. It usually involves trying to get the exact score of a set and the expected winner correct.

However, given that you wager on two possible outcomes, you can expect much better odds and potentially bigger returns with a scorecast bet. Of course, with that, the risk factor is much higher, but sometimes it is worth taking that risk.

If you decide to place a scorecast bet, you will have options for each set, so you can bet on one or more sets at once, as you see fit.

Accumulators

Tennis accumulators work very similarly to accumulators for other sports. As you may know already, accumulators include making multiple bets on a single bet slip to enjoy potentially higher payouts.

However, once again, these types of bets in tennis are much riskier, but with a thorough analysis and knowledge of the players, you can increase your chances of landing a winning bet.

The vast majority of punters choose match bets for their tennis accumulators, but you are not limited to just that. If you have something else in mind, feel free to include other tennis markets in your selection as you see fit.

Sports betting sites settle tennis accumulators once all games on your bet slip are finished. You need to make all the selections correctly; otherwise, you lose the entire stake.

Handicaps

Handicap betting is another interesting type of bet you can make on almost all tennis matches. It enhances the odds of match betting, as handicap bets allow you to bet on the margin of a win or a loss in a certain game.

A player who is the favorite in the match will be given a handicap to boost their odds of winning against the underdog. As an example, a handicap bet might imply the player wins by three sets, and if they don’t, then you lose the bet.

Long-Term bets

Of course, you can also place various long-term bets on certain tournaments. Reputable betting sites have special markets when popular tennis tournaments take place. As an example, a long-term bet would be to bet on the winner of a certain tournament.

This type of bet will be settled after the final of the given tournament, with individual matches not affecting the prediction. All you need to be worried about is your chosen player to get to the final and win it.

You can also use other special long-term bets for the most popular tournaments, such as:

Certain events that occur during the matches
Total games played
In which round does a certain player get eliminated
Whether there is a tiebreak

Live Betting

If you follow tennis closely all the time, then we would advise you to try betting on certain games live. Once the game starts, bookies will introduce several in-play or live markets for all players to bet on.

Just visit the live betting section of the operator, choose the game, and select your preferred market. There are plenty of options here, with all markets available for pre-game betting also here but with different odds.

Keep in mind that as the match progresses, certain markets can disappear due to the happenings on the court.

Reputable sports betting sites will provide you with real-time results and various reports during the tennis game so you can make a much better decision.

Bet Builders

Finally, we have tennis bet builders, which are newer in the sports betting business but are extremely popular among punters. Bet builders allow you to create any bet you want on any tennis match, as you can choose from all popular markets.

As an example, you can choose for a player to win a match, the sets won, and total games to complete one single bet.

Of course, all your selections for that given match need to be correct; otherwise, you lose your stake. To make a tennis bet builder, just head to the match you wish to bet on, choose the bet builder feature, and see which markets you have available. Once you add all selections, you can complete the bet slip and choose the amount you wish to wager.

Major Tennis Tournaments to Bet On

Thankfully, if you are completely new to the tennis sports betting industry, you have plenty of options when it comes to tournaments you can bet on. To put it simply, there are tournaments throughout the year, so you won’t have a dull or boring period without having any competitive and exciting matches to place your real money wagers on.

With that in mind, there are nine major tennis tournaments that you can utilize for all your sports bets:

Wimbledon – dates back to 1877, and it takes place in London on grass courts. It occurs for two weeks in early summer.
The US Open – first played in 1881, and it takes place in New York. It occurs in August/September each year.
The Australian Open – one of the most popular tennis competitions, dating back to 1988. It is played on a hard court surface, and it is the first grand slam of the year.
The French Open – different from other grand slams in that it is played on a clay court. It has a history of more than 100 years, so the excitement is always there when it occurs.
Summer Games – more than just a tennis tournament, as you also have the chance to watch other sports during that period, which is quite unique.
The BNP Paribas Open – always attracts more than 400,000 fans, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that it takes place in beautiful California.
ATP Finals – a different game format than grand slams. There is a group stage followed by a knock-out system later on.
WTA Finals – a professional women’s tournament that has a similar structure to the ATP Finals
Laver Cup – a newcomer to the tennis scene, which first took place in 2017. It is a weekend tournament that sees players from Europe go head-to-head against players from the rest of the world.

Tips and Tricks for Betting on Tennis

As is the case with plenty of aspects of sports betting, you will increase your chances of securing a nice win if you have a strategy in place.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you guarantee wins, but the odds of you enhancing your profitability in the long term increase. It is important that you take tennis sports betting seriously if you start wagering on it.

Therefore, we can provide you with some general tips and strategies you can use for all your tennis bets at sportsbet.io. Feel free to combine more than one of the below-mentioned strategies to have a bigger chance of landing long-term wins.

Look Out for the Best Odds

As you can already guess, tennis has several markets that you can bet on. Of course, the odds will vary from one market to another, so you should never rush to make your wager.

We always advise you to check all markets and use them for all your tennis bets. Don’t rush into just placing a match bet when, as an example, a handicap bet might be a better choice with much bigger odds.

Plenty of new players simply place their bets on the match result and fail to check out the other potentially lucrative markets that could lead to higher payouts.

Do Your Research

Never wager your money before you do thorough research on a given tournament or player. It doesn’t matter how good or bad a certain player is; there are situations where they might excel or disappoint.

As an example, the French Open is held on a clay surface, which is very difficult for plenty of players. However, that is not the case with Rafael Nadal, who seems to have dominated the French Open throughout his career.

There are countless examples like this, so you should check every detail about players and tournaments before you start betting.

Keep Track of Your Betting Record

Every experienced bettor will tell you that it is very important for you to keep a record of your tennis betting progress.

This way, you can see your mistakes in the past as well as your good bets. This is also very helpful for you to manage your bankroll much better. Every reputable bookmaker, such as sportsbet.io, has a history tab that will show you your betting record. Check it regularly, and you are sure to see an improvement in your betting activities.

Set a Betting Budget and Stick To It

This is advice that applies to all betting enthusiasts. Every tennis bettor has a certain budget they can use for betting, and we strongly advise you not to go over it.

If you gamble without any control over tennis tournaments, you can dive into a tennis gambling addiction, which can have serious repercussions on your overall life and health.

A good strategy here is to set a monthly budget for gambling based on your income and stick to it. This way, betting on tennis can remain a nice pastime activity and nothing more, as it should.

Take Small Wins and Profits

Of course, everyone’s dream is to secure a life-changing win with tennis bets and be profitable all the time.

However, that is very rarely the case, so you are always best advised to stay happy with a steady stream of tennis betting income. So, we recommend you take small wins from average odds and bets and don’t just chase big wins all the time; that is a scenario that dooms you.

Don’t Bet on Your Favorite Player

This is sort of an unwritten rule when it comes to tennis bets. Everyone who follows the sport surely has a favorite player, and you will be forgiven for always being biased when that player plays. Furthermore, you can always be tempted to place a wager on your player, thinking that they will always win.

However, we are here to advise you to avoid such bets. Sometimes, your player will lose, and you will end up losing your stake just because you may have ignored the hard facts. As an example, your favorite player may not have a good history on grass courts, but you still bet on them, and they lost. No surprise here, but you were biased and you ignored the obvious.

So, you have nothing to lose if you just decide to ignore your player and bet on something else. Tennis tournaments have various matches and good odds for various betting types, so you won’t have a problem finding an alternative.

Betting on your favorite player to lose is also a no-go, as we understand how you may feel about that type of bet. So, stick to other players and games, and just cheer for your favorite player to continue winning without any bets on his games.

Verdict

Tennis is a sport that has a long history in the sports betting market. Since the emergence of reputable online bookmakers, it seems like this sport has come to a whole other level when it comes to betting.

Just the number of betting markets and the competitive odds bookmakers provide for all major tennis events speak volumes about how highly regarded the sport is among betting enthusiasts.

The even better news is that there are so many betting options for all types of players—newbies and experienced pros alike—that everyone can try out betting on their preferred tennis players or tournaments in the blink of an eye.

If you are completely new to the tennis betting industry, then we strongly advise you to read this article carefully and use all of the above-mentioned tips. Moreover, you should always check out the possible bet types and choose one or more that match your preferences and knowledge the best.

Once you get a better understanding of how betting on tennis works, nothing can stop you from enjoying it as a good pastime activity!

FAQ

Is it safe to bet on tennis?

As long as you choose a reputable sports betting site such as sportsbet.io, you have nothing to worry about. The operator has a valid license, and it uses the latest encryption software to ensure all your personal data is well protected.

How can I start betting on tennis?

First off, you need an account at a sports betting site. After you create one, you will need to make your first deposit, and you will be ready to start betting. Head to the betting section, choose tennis, and start with your real money bets.

Which is the best betting type for tennis?

This mainly depends on what type of player you are. New punters are always wise to start with the basics, such as match bets, and go on to more complicated bets as they learn all aspects of tennis betting.