2024 Tennis Betting Guide: How To Bet On Tennis Odds
In fact, betting on tennis is perhaps one of the most popular gambling activities on the planet. With the Grand Slam Tournaments, French and US Open, Wimbledon, and even the Olympics, there is a lot of publicity and build-up leading into these matches.
Oddsmakers are constantly creating different spreads and lines to induce action from the betting public, so read on to learn how to bet the Tennis odds accordingly.
Different Tennis Betting Structures
As with most sports betting, tennis is far more intricate than simply picking winners and losers straight-up. For instance, in a match-up between a top seed and an unranked player, a heads-up match heavily tilts in the prior's favor.
Picking the favored player to win straight-up, which would be how most bet, will not be very lucrative. You'll not even earn what you've risked by betting on a tennis favorite, taking in pennies on the dollar. However, by introducing spreads and prop bets, and by inducing action from all sides of this lopsided match, online sportsbooks can provide and pay off a variety of odds.
Pro Tennis Betting Lines
Game lines contain the most popular types of tennis bets - Game spreads, moneyline odds for winners, and the over/under. However, betting lines for tennis operate slightly differently than they do when offered for the NFL, NBA, or other major professional sports.
Here is a match line to serve as an example:
Iga Swiatek vs. Gabriela Talaba Lee
- Game Spread: Swiatek -7.5, GTL +7.5
- Moneyline: Swiatek -20000, GTL +1800
- Over/Under: 16.5
Tennis Game Spreads
The first element of the tennis betting line above is the game spread. This is a number that reflects the number of total games that a player is expected to win or lose by. Iga Swiatek is favored to win by 7.5 games which means she needs to win by 8 or more games to cover.
Gabriela Talaba Lee is expected to lose by 7.5 games and is the underdog. Lee will need to lose by 7 games or less to cover the spread and earn a victory for those that bet on her.
Because the tennis spread is fractional, it means that there is no potential for a push which is what happens when the number provided is accurately reflected in the final score.
Moneyline Odds
The moneyline odds are the second element of the tennis betting line above, and they suggest that it's pretty much a lock that Swiatek wins.
Betting on tennis moneyline odds are simple wagers on the player who will win the match. Because Swiatek is so heavily favored, sportsbooks have posted a -20000 moneyline on her chances of winning. This means that a bet of $200 is required to net $1 in profit.
Underdog bets is where money can be made when laying some action on a positive moneyline. A $1 bet on Lee to beat Swiatek will net $18 if she wins.
Over/Under Betting
The third and final element of the tennis match line above is the over/under. This is the projected total games that will be completed during the match between Swiatek and Lee and allows bettors to lay action on whether or not the final amount will be over or under the line.
Tennis Prop Bets
Prop bets, also called proposition bets, are a big draw at most sportsbooks. You can bet on a wide range of things that often have little to do with the winners or losers of the match.
For instance, you might find an over-under line for the number of aces served in a match, or for how long the match lasts (minutes, as opposed to sets). Different books will have different prop options, with some even having live-time betting options.
Another type of tennis prop is set betting. With a set bet, you are actually betting on the exact number—or the over/under—number of sets the match will last. So, if you think the match would end in straight sets, you would bet on 3.
Tennis Futures
Prior to the start of any tournament, there will be futures odds that list all eligible players with moneyline odds next to their names that indicate their chances of winning and how much can be earned by wagering on them.
Here is an example of tennis futures with the top ten projected players listed:
Men's US Open Odds To Win
- Novak Djokovic +150
- Daniil Medvedev +225
- Carlos Alcaraz Garfia +350
- Rafael Nadal +600
- Alexander Zverev +1400
- Jannik Sinner +1600
- Stefanos Tsitsipas +1600
- Matteo Berrettini +2000
- Felix Auger Aliassime +2200
- Andrey Rublev +2500
Futures odds for tennis tournaments like Wimbledon, the French Open, and others, will be posted before the first round begins and will update as games complete. The earlier wagers are placed on Tennis futures, the better the payout tends to be - it pays to call your shot in advance!
Tennis Parlays
A parlay entails the combining of more than one wager into a single tennis bet. As more outcomes are added to the tennis parlay bet, the odds for a successful outcome increase which results in much larger payouts. The only kicker is that all elements of the parlay must win in order to collect a payout.
Joining A Safe And Legal Online Sportsbook
As with any type of wagering, we always recommend finding the most reputable legal online gambling sites that have been around for years and have excellent reputations. Since there are so many tennis betting sites to choose from online, it is crucial that you do your homework to avoid potential problems when it comes to collecting your winnings.
Lucky for you, we've done the homework for you and can recommend that you place your online tennis bet with any of the sportsbook sites we link to and review here at LBO.
All the other tips we offer to help you learn how to bet tennis like a pro will be negated if you don't wager at an accredited website, so browse through each of the ones we suggest above and consider joining a few so that you can shop the lines.