In today’s lesson, we will be talking about how to bet on tennis, and the basics of tennis betting.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to answer the following questions.
Is it legal to bet on tennis?How do you bet on tennis matches?Where can you place your tennis bets?What are the important tennis betting terms for beginners?How do you win big betting on tennis?
Complete Guide On How To Bet On Tennis
Tennis may not be that popular in the United States, but the sport can be quite big in other countries around the world.
Tennis matches are often played simultaneously all over the world, and there’s at least one tennis match being played every day. It can be in Australia, Dubai, Tokyo, China, or a country in Europe.
Both divisions of tennis attract crowds, regardless if it’s the women’s division or the men’s division taking the court.
Tennis has doubles too where a man and woman can be teammates. It’s called mixed doubles.
The public attention made tennis a good sport for sports betting companies to take bets on. And with the rise of online bookmakers, placing a bet on tennis has never been easier.
Is It Legal To Bet On Tennis?
Tennis betting is legal as long as your country or state allows sports betting.
Some US states still consider sports betting illegal, but some states are changing their stance on sports betting, and some have already legalized sports betting.
Now for those living outside of the United States, you may place your bets in tennis matches if you are in the United Kingdom, Australia, or Canada.
If you’re still unsure if you can bet on tennis or not, check out the local laws and regulations about sports betting in your country or state.
How To Bet On Tennis In The US
We were able to review most of these companies ourselves and experienced their betting platforms. And we came up with these bookmakers that accept US residents.
Since we were able to use these companies’ services, we know that they’re trustworthy and safe to use.
Also, you don’t need to worry about your payouts being withheld or delayed. These companies are known to pay their customers according to their set payout schedules.
You can also trust that their customer support will be there for you any time you’ll be needing their services.
If you want to maximize your winnings when betting on tennis, we recommend going with 5Dimes.
If you’re looking for flexibility when it comes to adding funds to your account and cashing out your winnings, we suggest using BetOnline.
Other sports betting sites you might consider are Intertops, BetNow, and MyBookie. All three are reputable bookmakers, and we’ve been using them for quite some time now.
How To Bet On Tennis In Canada
Those in Canada can bet on sports using an offshore bookmaker that welcome players in their area.
There are more than a handful of online betting sites you can choose from, but we highly recommend using BetOnline to place your tennis bets.
They’re one of the best bookmakers today and offer a variety of deposit and withdrawal options so it’ll be easy for you to add funds or withdraw money from your account.
How To Bet On Tennis In The UK
UK residents can enjoy betting online without worrying about strict gambling laws. This means they can easily place their bets on tennis matches compared to US residents.
After reviewing some UK online betting sites, we’ve decided that BetNow is one of the better online bookmakers out there today.
They have a good betting platform, several cash-in and cash-out options, responsive customer support, and of course, great promotions and bonuses for new customers from the United Kingdom.
How To Bet On Tennis In Australia
Betting in Australia is not considered completely illegal.
AU residents can still participate in sports betting as the laws in their country are strict to the betting operator and not the gambler.
Most Australians participate in online betting through international providers.
We were able to review a handful of AU online betting sites and chose to recommend 5Dimes.
We place some of our sports bet with them, so we know they’re 100% legit, and they offer some of the best tennis odds among major bookmakers.
How To Bet On Tennis FAQs
How do you bet on tennis?
There are two ways you can bet on tennis. The first one is by going to your local casino and heading to their sportsbook to place your tennis bet. The other one is by signing up with an online bookmaker that’ll allow you to place your tennis bets without leaving your house.
If you have to choose between the two, we recommend doing the second option. It’s easier and more economical. You don’t have to pay for parking or gas. Or give anyone a tip when you win your bet.
How do odds work in tennis betting?
There are three types of odds used when you bet on a tennis match.
American odds used primarily by sportsbooks that cater to US bettors.
If the odd has a minus or negative sign (-) before the number, this means they’re that player is the favorite.
If it has a positive sign or plus sign before the number, then he or she is considered the underdog by the bookmakers.
The number after a minus sign tells a sports bettor how much bet he needs to place to win $100. And the number after a plus sign tells how much a bettor will win if he places $100.
Next, is the fractional odds. These are odds often utilized by bookmakers who serve UK customers.
Fractional odds have a slash or a hyphen between two numbers.
The first number is the amount you win when you wager a certain amount. This amount is represented by the second number.
Lastly, the decimal odds. Decimal odds are popular in the Oceania region (Australia and New Zealand), Canada, and other countries in Europe. Decimal odds represent the total amount you will win for every $1 bet.
How often do tennis favorites win?
According to Smarkets.com, favorites in a best of three tennis match win at a rate of 68.5%.
When applied to the best of five tennis matches, that number rises.
For this reason, bookmakers offer high odds to heavy tennis favorites. It’s not surprising anymore to see odds at -1000 to -2000 range in tennis betting.
What does 22.5 mean in tennis?
The numbers 22.5 often represents the number of games a tennis match is going to extend until the winning match point is scored.
If the final tally of the game is 7-5 and 6-4 with the match-winner winning 2-0 on sets, then you win your under bet for the game total of 22.5.
For 7-6, 4-6, and 6-4 set results, the over bet wins as the game total exceeded 22.
How long is a tennis match?
Most sets finish within 45 minutes, but it could be longer if two players won’t give an inch to each other.
Some tennis sets may conclude in just 20 minutes. These are referred to as blowout sets.
The best of three tennis matches usually end within one to two hours.
While the best of five matches or grand slam matches may take more or less three hours before a match point is scored.
Fun fact: The longest tennis match took 11 hours and 5 minutes before it ended. It was held for three days. The match was between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.
Another fun fact: Isner won. Just in case, you’re wondering.
Is it safe to bet on tennis online?
Betting on tennis online is 100% safe as long as you’re with a trusted online betting website.
If you need help selecting a trustworthy bookmaker to place your bets with, here are our top recommendations:
5Dimes (Our top choice and first-ever bookmaker with the best odds)BetOnline (Fast payouts, lots of cash-in options, and competitive betting platform)BetNow (Has the most user-friendly betting platform we’ve used so far)Intertops (Online betting pioneer and has a solid reputation)MyBookie (Up and coming bookmaker)
We can vouch for these bookmakers since our team is using them to place our bets. And we haven’t had any issues dealing with them.
Be wary of websites that don’t pay out their customers or offer too good to be true welcome offers or promotions.
A simple Google search of “<bookmaker> review” or “does <bookmaker> payout?” can tell you if you’re dealing with a safe betting site or a bad one.
If I win my tennis bet, how can I get paid?
Collecting your winnings in tennis betting is not that difficult. You just have to request to your bookmaker that you wish to withdraw your money from your account.
As long as you meet your bookmaker’s requirements like their minimum withdrawal amount, then you can easily withdraw your money at any time.
The payout method may vary depending on where you are located, the method you used to fund your account, and the available payout options with your bookmaker.
Tennis Bets
If you’re a sports betting beginner, we can help you get familiar with some of the most basic tennis betting terms.
Money Line Tennis Bets
A money line bet on tennis is where you choose who will be declared the winner at the end of the match.
You have the option to place your bet on the favorite or the underdog. The favorite gives you less profit when you win since oddsmakers gave it a higher chance of winning the game. Betting on underdogs gets you more money if they pull off an upset win, but they’ll have a lesser chance of winning the match.
For example, there is a game between Rafael Nadal, the world’s second-best player according to ATP rankings, and John Isner, who is ranked 21st today. Nadal is favored to win and was given -400 odds by your bookmaker. Isner is given +300 for an upset victory.
To back Nadal, you have to place $400 to win $100. To back Isner, you can place $100 and you’ll profit $300.
Of course, you can place any amount you want as long as you’ll win at least $1 when wagering on the favorite or bet at least $1 when betting on the underdog.
Game Spread Betting
Game spread betting is equivalent to point spread bets when betting on basketball or run line spread when betting on baseball.
This type of bet is graded based on how many points a player gets in the game.
Let’s use this Wimbledon championship match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Entering the match, Djokovic was favored and was given a -3 game spread edge. Federer was given a +3 game spread. This means you’ll win your bet if Federer keeps the game close and does not allow Djokovic to win by more than 3 games.
The first set gave Djokovic a one-game advantage. By the end of the second set, Federer had a four-game edge on Djokovic for winning it easily.
The third set win by Djokovic cut Federer’s advantage by a point. But at the end of the fourth set, Federer regains the advantage and is now heading to the fifth set with a 5 game advantage on Djokovic.
Federer lost the game eventually, but with a 5 game advantage against Djokovic, bettors who back Federer’s game spread were certain that they won their bet before the fifth set even started.
Betting on Set Spreads
Betting on set spreads is different than game spreads. Instead of betting on the games won by the player, you’re betting on how many sets he can win. The typical set spreads are +1.5 sets for the underdog and -1.5 sets for the favorite.
This means the favorite must win by at least 2 sets. So the result you’re betting on is a 2-0 win by the favorite. If the underdog was able to win a set, you lose your -1.5 set spread bet.
For matches that are up to five sets, the favorite usually is favored by -2.5 sets. Some bookmakers may give a -1.5 set advantage in events where two players match up to one another well, talent-wise. For this, the favorite can get away with a 3-1 victory and you’ll still win your -1.5 bet despite losing a set.
Tennis Game Total Bets
Tennis game total betting is the same as total betting on any other sports like the NFL or NBA.
Bookmakers set the total and you wager whether it will go over or under that total.
For tennis, it’s the number of games it takes before a winner is declared. For the best of three matches, the typical total line ranges from 18.5 to 22.5. And for the best of five matches, it ranges from 35.5 to 40 games or more.
Let’s use this match between Halep and Townsend in the 2019 US Open as an example. The game total was set at 19.5 before the match started.
The total was so low since Halep was a huge favorite against the No. 73-ranked Townsend.
Almost everyone expected the game to end in the second set after a strong showing of Halep in the first set.
Townsend pulled off an improbable win in the second set and rest is history. She was able to come back and win the last set 7-6. Upsetting the second-best tennis player in the women’s division.
Tennis Prop Bets
Tennis prop bets are different than most of the bets we discussed since it is not dependent on the match’s final result.
It usually answers the question.
Will it happen during the match?
A good example of a prop bet is who will win the first set. Bookmakers give you the odds and you bet on who you think will take the first set.
Another tennis prop bet is choosing whether there will be a tie break for a certain set or not. These types of bets are usually present in big tournaments only or grand slams.
You may even guess the correct score of a certain set, and win a good amount of money if you placed the right bet.
Or if that’s too hard for you, you can wager on how many games a certain set will take.
10 games? 11?
It’s your pick.
Future Bets
Tennis future bet is betting on a possibility that may take several matches before it’s decided.
The perfect example is betting on who will win the tournament.
Bookmakers release odds before the tournament begins and you can place a bet on who will win it all.
The odds will change once the tournament starts. Favored players get better odds before the tournament starts.
You may also bet on what stage of the tournament a certain player will get eliminated. Is it the quarterfinals, semi-finals, finals, or the elimination rounds.
Tennis Betting Tips For Beginners
Shop for odds
Sports betting can cost you money if you don’t know how to decrease the amount your bets are costing you each time you wager.
Think of it like investing in the stock market, the more orders you place the more fees you have to pay for.
The same can be said when you place your bets.
One way to lessen these so-called fees is by learning how to shop for better odds.
The only way you can shop for the best odds is to open more than one sports betting account.
Experienced sports bettors recommend having at least 3 to 5 accounts with multiple bookmakers to maximize your earning potential. You can easily do this by shopping for the best odds for each game you bet on.
Bookmakers may see a tennis match differently from other bookmakers that is why they have different odds.
The small difference between these odds from sportsbook A and sportsbook B may not be much today. But if you’re going to take tennis betting seriously, then it can add up in the long run.
Check the head-to-head matchup
We suggest only taking the most recent head-to-head matchup for consideration.
Don’t be too concerned if he beat him five years ago in the same tournament.
Players change, they either improve or they don’t.
However, there are some players who struggle against a specific player or playing style. It’s good to consider this before you place your tennis bet.
Consider the surface
High ranking tennis players have developed a way to play well on any type of surfaces. But there’s still some good tennis players out there that can be considered specialists.
Players who only play well in a specific type of surface. Like Andy Murray, he used to be a specialist in clay surfaces. It’s hard to beat him there but take him someplace else, you decrease his chances of winning.
You either back these specialists or bet against them.
John Isner struggles to play on green surfaces. So you should consider betting against when playing on grass.
Practice good bankroll management
When you’re just learning how to bet on tennis you might not be familiar with bankroll management yet.
Bankroll management is where you will learn how properly bet on a certain tennis match. This includes the amount you should be wagering.
Identifying how much you should bet in a tennis match is just as important as your bet itself. Wagering too much of your money decimate your bankroll if you go on a losing streak.
It’s something that happens to every sports bettor.
Even professional sports bettor go on losing streaks themselves.
And if you’ll ask them how were they able to stay in the game longer, they’ll tell you it’s because of good bankroll management.
How To Bet On Tennis International Tournaments
Betting on grand slam tournaments is like betting on regular tennis tournaments. The difference is that bookmakers offer more variety of bets you can wager on, and usually, lines are much sharper.
Wimbledon
The Wimbledon or The Championships is the oldest tennis event in the world and is regarded as the premier tournament for the sport.
It is played on grass courts and is held in London from late June to early July.
Roger Federer holds the title for having the most Wimbledon trophies with eight trophies for the men’s single division.
For the women’s division, the crown goes to Martina Navratilova with 9 Wimbledon championships.
Australian Open
The Australian Open is often called the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific.
It’s the first major tournament of each year, just like Australians always see the sun first before the rest of us.
The hard-court tennis tournament starts on the last fortnight of January and is held in Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic has the most Australian Open wins with 8 titles in the men’s division. Margaret Courts holds that title in the women’s division with 11 Australian Open championships.
US Open
US Open is the modern version of the US National Championship.
It’s played in hard court. But the tournament was played in other surfaces before like grass until 1974 and clay until 1977.
The tournament is played in New York and is held on the last Monday of August and runs for at least two weeks.
Unlike other tournaments, winners of the US Open in both the men’s and women’s division get equal prize money.
French Open
The French Open also referred to as the Roland-Garros.
It is held in Paris in May and is the premier clay court tennis championship since 1908.
Rafael Nadal holds the record for most French Open championships in the men’s division with 12 titles.
Chris Evert has the most French Open titles in the women’s division with 7 championships.
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