Tennis Betting at Bally Bet Sports & Casino

Tennis betting offers year-round action across every surface and tournament level. Four Grand Slams anchor the calendar, but ATP and WTA events run weekly, meaning there’s ample opportunity to engage with and enjoy the sport.

To understand tennis betting, you’ll need a good handle on the markets offered be able to spot value and identify the nuances between court surfaces, player characteristics and the context surrounding a particular match. Fortunately, our tennis betting guide covers the important areas of knowledge you need to get started.

How to Bet on Tennis: The Basics

Given the focus on individual performance in place of team dynamics – two players go head-to-head, one wins – there’s a simplicity to tennis betting markets that adds to their appeal. But through set, game and in-play markets, there’s still some depth to them.

The most popular market is a bet on the match winner. The odds for both players change in line with rankings, recent form and head-to-head records, as well as how they perform on certain surfaces. A player ranked 5th facing someone ranked 50th will be heavily favoured, and that will be reflected in the shorter odds (short odds denote something is very likely to happen).

Markets extend beyond match winner to offer set and game betting (deciding how many sets and games get played), correct score betting (picking what you think the final score will be) and handicap betting, where players must cover a preset advantage or disadvantage for the bet to win.

Online betting on tennis is accessible across desktop and mobile platforms. Pre-match markets are available a few days before the match starts, and remain available until the first serve. Live betting lets you engage with matches as they develop, with odds moving after every point.

Popular Tennis Betting Markets at Bally Bet

Here's a handy list outlining some of the most popular types of bets available for tennis matches, and how they work.

Match Winner

A straightforward market where you bet on who you think will win the match.

Set Betting

Decide what you think the exact set score of the match will be. A winning set bet pays more than a match winner bet because you’re choosing the margin of victory.

For men’s Grand Slam matches, which follow a best-of-five format, options are 3-0 (straight sets), 3-1 and 3-2. It’s a best-of-three format for women’s Grand Slams and the ATP and WTA tournaments, so 2-0 and 2-1 will be the available options.

Set Handicap

As with handicap bets in other sports, here you’re applying a virtual advantage or disadvantage for a certain player to maintain or overcome. Doing so helps balance the perceived differences in quality between the two players.

Backing the favourite at –1.5 sets means they’d have to win by at least two sets for your bet to come good.

Total Games

With a total games bet, you’re wagering on whether the number of games in a match exceeds or falls short of a specific line.

For example, a best-of-three match ending 6-4, 7-5 adds up to 22 games played, so the over would win on a totals market line set at 21.5.

Correct Score

Choose what you think the exact score will be in a certain set, from 6-1 and 1-6 to 7-6 and 7-6 depending on the player you pick.

How Bet Builders Work in Tennis

With bet builders, you can combine a number of possible outcomes of a single match into a single bet and receive enhanced odds doing so.

Taking some of the examples we’ve just covered, this could look like a match winner bet and a total games bet. Adding these two markets to your bet slip will trigger the bet builder feature (keep an eye out for the ‘BB’ label) so it’s easy to see the updated odds as well as potential returns.

When it comes to building a bet for tennis, keep in mind correlated events: if you’re anticipating a close match, it makes sense to choose, for example, conservative and complementary set betting and total sets markets instead of having them conflict with one another.

If you'd like to learn more about bet builders in general - and what they look like for other sports - don't hesitate to read our All About Bet Builders guide.

What to Know About In-Play Tennis Betting

Live tennis betting works at a similar speed as the game itself, with odds moving constantly to reflect scores and the general read of the situation at hand. If a player suffers a rocky start, their winning odds may lengthen, which may create value if you think they have a chance of recovering later on.

Watch matches closely and be on the lookout for hints that the direction of the game is going to change. Does one player appear to be tiring quicker than their opponent? Have they changed up their tactics between games and, if so, how is the opposition dealing with it? These are just two examples of match-changing factors worth trying to spot early.

Tennis Betting Strategy: Factors That Can Influence Match Outcomes

Playing Surface

There are three main surfaces tennis matches are played on, and each one comes with their own set of distinct characteristics.

Grass courts are quite the opposite, with the surface’s low friction helping create quick and low-bouncing tennis. Players who can serve and volley, and slice, well tend to thrive on these courts.

Tennis played on clay courts – like those at the Roland Garros – tends to be slower, but bouncier. It’s also a real test of the player’s stamina; the ball accumulates weight from the dirt, making them heavier to hit.

Hard courts are the most neutral of the three, offering a speed of play that falls between grass and clay. The bounce of the ball is most consistent on these courts, and aggressive players with big serves can reap the rewards of the surface’s predictability.

When it comes to betting on tennis, the court’s surface matters. Players dominant on clay may struggle on grass, and vice versa. It’s a good idea to check a player’s recent form on a particular surface before you place a bet.

Recent Form and Injuries

On the topic of player form, it’s wise to see how they’ve been getting on in general. Someone coming into the match off the back of two or three straight victories will hope to keep that momentum. Conversely, a player not long back from injury may not be completely match fit.

With so many statistics available, it takes next to no time to analyse a player’s recent results – the important thing is recognising any patterns for added context, like how frequently they retire mid-match.

Rankings and Head-to-Head Records

As far as providing a broader context on the current strength of a player goes, world rankings are extremely valuable. But they don’t necessarily guarantee outcomes.

Upsets can and do happen, and while a player may be ranked lower than their opponent, they may have favourable head-to-head record or play-style advantage over them.

Weather

Weather can have a significant impact on outdoor tennis.

Heavy winds can change the ball’s trajectory and speed, making where and how it’s going to land more unpredictable. Extreme heat and humidity zaps player stamina, rapidly increasing the likelihood of cramps and fatigue. And while games are rained out, damp conditions slow the speed of the game down as players look to avoid injury, and the ball gets heavier as it absorbs the moisture from the court.

Because the weather can affect the way a match plays out so drastically, it’s never a bad idea to consult the local weather forecast in the run-up to an event.

Betting on Tennis Grand Slam Tournaments

As the sport’s biggest events, it’s no surprise the four Grand Slams see such a large amount of betting activity. Here’s a quick overview of when they take place and how they can differ from one another.

Australian Open Betting

Taking place at Melbourne Park across the month of January, market odds for the Australian Open can change to reflect the summer heat (the tournament has an Extreme Heat Policy) as well as the fact it’s the first major of the tournament. Players coming off a strong off-season and those who play well in humidity perform nicely here.

Roland Garros Betting

The French Open takes place between May and June on clay courts, which, as we explained earlier, suit players with the stamina to see long and hard-fought matches through.

Wimbledon Tennis Betting

Arguably the most prestigious tennis tournament, held on grass courts that aid big servers and flat hitters.

US Open Tennis Betting

You can catch the fourth and final tournament in August and September. The US Open is played out on hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Hard courts provide consistent playing conditions, but the challenge for this tournament comes from the late summer humidity as well as it being, and it’s a real test of players’ fitness and adaptability being the final major of the series.

Betting on the ATP and WTA Tours

For weekly tennis action, you can check out the ATP and WTA tours, both of which feature tournaments at various levels.

ATP tennis betting covers the men’s events, such as the ATP 250 and the Masters 1000, while WTA tennis betting covers the women’s tour with similar tournaments like the WTA 125. Owing to the greater parity between players, WTA tournaments are hotbeds for upsets, so if you’re looking for matches with giant-killings, look no further.

Useful Tennis Betting Tips and Advice

Watch out for scheduling fatigue

Any tennis fan will know the calendar is absolutely packed. Great for spectators, not so much for the players themselves. Even the elite are susceptible to feeling tired, and it can show in their matches. Look out for players coming into one tournament closely off the back of another.

Gauge motivation levels

Top players have a commitment to play in a certain number of tournaments per season, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be as committed in smaller events as they might be in the Grand Slams.

From chasing prestige and ranking goals to national pride, there are a good few reasons behind why a certain player might be feeling particularly motivated about a match. If you can get a good handle on these factors, finding valuable bets shouldn’t be too difficult.

Short odds (meaning very likely to happen) on heavy favourites offer little in the way of potential returns, and depending on what the player is priced at, you could be risking a significant amount for a small profit. It may be worth taking time to review other markets that could have value or wait until the odds look likely to improve.

Consider first-serve percentage

As the reflection of how often a player hits a successful first serve, the first-serve percentage is a good indicator of how likely they are to control the match. Elite players will have percentages ranging from 60-70%, and players whose percentages drop below 50% look susceptible to breaks of serve.

Tracking tennis betting trends

Tennis tournaments generate a wealth of data, leading to trends around player performances taking shape. It might be in your interest to keep tabs on how these patterns develop over time; doing so may help you answer questions about how a player historically performs in a certain tournament as well as how young players fare against ageing stars.

Tennis Betting Rules: A Few Points Worth Bearing in Mind

Before placing your bet, make sure you’re aware of what certain tennis outcomes can mean should they occur.

A match has to start for bets to stand, so if a player withdraws beforehand, bets are usually voided and refunded.

Set-specific bets on a game where there’s a retirement may be void. Check out our Terms and Conditions for further information about specific markets.

If you back a player in-play and they subsequently retire, your bet will still stand.

It’s never a bad idea to swot up on our tennis betting rules before getting involved. Doing so helps avoid any confusion when an unexpected situation arises. You’ll find retirements happen more frequently the longer a match goes on, or the hotter the conditions in which it’s played.