Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world to bet on and it is easy to see why. The sport is played throughout the 12 months of the year and there are upwards of 60 tournaments taking place, each with several dozen matches scheduled, that are ready to be bet on.
Betting on tennis gives you plenty of opportunity to make bets, and lots of them. You can usually bet on men’s singles, women’s singles and doubles matches at every major tennis tournament, plus online bookmakers almost always offer futures bets for the tournament winners.
Before you clamber for your computer mouse and head to one of our betting partners to bet on tennis, first check out our guide on how to bet on tennis so you are armed with all the information you will need to bet on tennis profitably.
The Grand Slams
There may be more than 60 tennis tournaments across the calendar year but there are four that stand out from the crowd, The Grand Slams. This quartet of tennis tournaments are the ones that every professional tennis player dreams of winning at least once during their careers.
The first of the Grand Slams is the Australian Open that takes place every January in Melbourne, Australia and it played on a hard court. Established in 1905, the Australian Open is the newest addition to the Grand Slam tournaments, even if it is more than 110 years old.
Following the Australian Open is the French Open, which usually takes place in May and June in Paris, France. This Grand Slam tournament takes place on a clay court and has been part of the tennis calendar since 1891.
Wimbledon is perhaps the most famous Grand Slam tennis tournament of them all and the oldest having been established back in 1877. Played on grass, Wimbledon runs in June and July in London and the tournament that everyone wants to win.
Rounding off the Grand Slam tournaments is the US Open in New York, USA during August and September. The US Open is the second-oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament after Wimbledon, having been around since 1881.
While these Grand Slams are the highlights of the tennis schedule, look out for the David Cup and Fed Cup. The Davis Cup is a men’s tournament that sees players compete in teams. The Fed Cup is the women’s equivalent and both, along with the Grand Slams, often see online bookmakers run special offers and promotions.
The Big Four
When it comes to betting on tennis you will sometimes hear the term “The Big Four”. This is in relation to the men’s tournaments where four players have dominated in recent years. The Big Four used to include Andy Murray, but Alcaraz has rocketed into stardom since winning two majors in 2023.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are the so-called Big Four and they dominate men’s tennis. They have won more than $400 million between them, have numerous career titles and have a ridiculously high combined winrate.
It is safe to say that these four players are the bookmakers’ odds on favorites to win every tournament they compete in. Some online sports books offer tournament betting odds without the Big Four as part of the bet. This can be a good bet to make if the odds are long enough because the Big Four do tend to win everything!
Tennis Futures Betting
Betting on tennis futures is a simple task and one bet type that is popular with tennis bettors. Sports betting sites will almost always offer odds on the outright winner of a major tournament, with some bookmakers spreading odds on some of the lesser known tennis tournaments.
As mentioned earlier, the Big Four dominate all tennis markets in the men’s game so do not expect good betting odds here. Instead, try look for some value outside of the Big Four.
Court surface plays a major role in tennis futures betting because some players excel on one surface but tend to struggle on others. For example, there is nobody in the world as good as Rafael Nadal on a clay court while Roger Federer is arguably the best grass court player in the open era.
The draw for tournaments often takes place in advance of the betting odds being published so study the possible routes players can take to the final and adjust your strategy accordingly, especially if any of the Big Four must play each other before the final or have some tough games from the Round of 16.
Individual Tennis Match Betting
Perhaps the most popular tennis betting is on individual matches, albeit without the Big Four, because there are so many matches taking place during a typical tournament.
Many matches during tournaments are evenly matches so the match betting odds will be close together. However, as the draw can pit the elite players against the lesser players, you can often find huge long, or short, odds to bet on.
Betting on the sets of a tennis match is another way to make money from betting on tennis. Online sports betting sites will often handicap a player by giving them a set deficit that they must make up in order to win the bet.
Another set-based tennis bet is how a player will win the game, be it 3-0 or 2-1. Some will also offer betting odds on how many games a player will win in a specific set. This last bet is particularly useful if one of the Big Four is playing a lesser known player because they will often win 6-0 or 6-1, something that is rare in the latter stages, and this will often have longer odds.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
But the tournament has seen nothing like what's unfolded in men's singles over the past generation. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have combined to win 14 of the last 16 men's singles titles.
