Best Tennis Betting Sites & Tennis Betting Guide
You could sit and debate all day long on what the best sport in the world is, but believe it or not, Tennis is actually a pretty serious contender for that title!
Now, maybe there are a lot of faster-paced sports out there for us to wager on, but there really aren’t that many that are just as focused as tennis!
With tennis, you don’t have to follow numerous players. Aside from doubles, you’ve just got one player pitted up against another and it’s down to each individual player to prove that he or she has what it takes!
This ends up giving tennis kind of an elegant simplicity which can be a welcome reprieve from the complexity of other sports. This is just one of many reasons that many bettors become passionate about following tennis.
Another good reason to get into betting on tennis? There is always something to bet on. Major tournaments take place all around the calendar, all around the globe, making sure that you’re never going to get bored! You’ll always be honing in on your handicapping abilities as well as constantly have numerous opportunities to win some money!
First off, let me go ahead and tell you the best places you can go to place your tennis wagers, and then I’ll talk a little about the sport itself.
If you already know where you would like to go to start doing some betting, you can skip the following section, although you already know that I believe you should read all of this!
Let’s go ahead and get started!
My Top Recommended Sites For Betting On Tennis
Bovada is going to be your best bet (no pun intended!) for those looking to place some bets on tennis futures.
You can also place your wagers on most major tournament competitions, including:
- ATP
- Davis Cup
- Challenger
- WTA 125K
- ITF Men
- ITF Women
And of course there will be action for all of the upcoming Grand Slam tournaments such as the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.
Those out there that have not yet become members of Bovada, you can qualify for a Welcome Bonus of up to $250 when you sign up for an account today!
Bovada is also known for regularly sending out additional bonus opportunities to loyal customers so you’ll want to make sure that you keep an eye out for those as well as check back on their promotion page often!
BetOnline is going to be the best for those out there that are looking for news and promotions. They don’t appear to offer as much in the way of variety as other sportsbooks, but they’re still a great site if you want to wager on ATP, WTA, or Challenger.
According to the site itself, you can wager on Grand Slam and virtually every other major tennis tournament, so it seems that it’s simply going to take longer for the site to make the wagers available for these events, (in other words, they’re just not the most solid when it comes to futures). However, they are absolutely fantastic at posting running updates for those of you that get into the sport enough to want to check out updated tennis news.
Not only can you get an awesome Welcome Bonus as well as a Lifetime Reload Bonus when you sign up, but the bonus hunters will love BetOnline as they carry the most promotions at any given time with one exception which I’ll get to right now!
SportsBetting is going to be the best for those out there that are looking for news and promotions. They don’t appear to offer as much in the way of variety as other sportsbooks, but they’re still a great site if you want to wager on ATP, WTA, or Challenger…
Wait, wait, wait. I know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t I already say this” just above about BetOnline? Yes, yes I did. You see, SportsBetting and BetOnline are owned by the same company and the sites are almost identical.
Here’s the thing. There are no rules or terms that say you cannot join both and essentially use the same great bonuses and promotions TWICE so there’s just no real reason to not go and Double Your Bonuses!
XBet is where you’re going to find the best sportsbook for making your straight wagers.
Over at XBet, you can bet on a wide range of major competitions although the majority of them are going to be your basic “win-or-lose” types of bets.
XBet is known for marketing themselves to the “newer” bettors out there but the more seasoned vets will still have a great time as well with one of the better Reload Bonuses you’ll find, currently $250 for the sportsbook and $500 for the casino.
Speaking of the casino, when you join up over at XBet right now, you can not only get the Welcome Bonus of up to $500 in the sportsbook, but they’ll also give you a Free $10 Chip just to check out the casino and see what you think about it!
MyBookie is yet another great choice for those that are seeking out Bonuses, News, and Futures to go along with their gambling.
At MyBookie you can wager on ATP, WTA, and other major tournaments. MyBookie really comes through with futures bets as well, even if not as many as Bovada.
If you find yourself delving deep into the world of betting on tennis, this is another site that’s really going to come through for you with a running news feed on developments in the tennis world, quite often offering up their own predictions and free tips for upcoming competitions.
MyBookie is also very generous with their Bonuses. There is currently a 50% Welcome Bonus of up to $1,000 to go with a tiered Reload Bonus program that just keeps on going up depending on your depositing action!
If you want some catered special offers, Everygame is going to be your book of choice!
This is by far one of the best in all-around choices for betting on tennis online. The site offers numerous types of bets on all of the major tournaments, including:
- Davis Cup
- ATP
- WTA
- Grand Slam
Now, as far as those ‘catered special offers’ I had mentioned, Everygame is by far the best about putting up offers which are specific to an upcoming event, quite often, tennis! For example, there was an offer at one time that came down to when you bet on the Grand Slam competition, you were automatically entered into a prize pool for a $5,000 Cash Bonus with No Strings Attached! This is just one more way that Everygame adds serious value to your online betting experience.
Conclusion
Now you know a lot more about the best sites to visit for your tennis betting needs, and you’re aware that there are actually quite a few excellent choices you could make. So which one is right for you? Now, that’s a question that only you could answer. The smart bettor is going to be at least visiting all of these to check them all out!
I suggest that you join several of these sites. This will give you access to far more options, opportunities, and promotions. You will be able to shop the odds to make sure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck before actually placing said bets. This is a very important step if you really want to maximize your winnings.
What Big Tennis Events Can You Wager On?
If you are new to following tennis it will really help you to familiarize yourself with some of the major tournaments.
The Grand Slam
First of all, there is the Grand Slam. The Grand Slam is not just one tournament, it is actually a set of four different tournaments which take place over the course of each calendar year. These tournaments are also referred to as the “Majors”.
In chronological order, the Grand Slam is comprised of:
The Grand Slam events are considered the most prestigious of all tennis tournaments. They offer the most ranking points and they pay out the most prize money to the champions.
The main events at the four are:
- Men’s singles
- Women’s singles
- Men’s doubles
- Women’s doubles
- Mixed doubles
There are also other events which take place at each of the tournaments. These include matches for juniors and seniors as well as players in wheelchairs. There are also sometimes special exhibition matches.
If a player wins the US Open, French Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon during a single year for any of the main events, that is known as a Grand Slam.
This would obviously be quite challenging even if all of the tennis courts were similar, but the conditions vary from one tournament venue to the next. The most striking example is perhaps the court at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.
The French Open is played on a clay surface, which is slow moving and produces a higher bounce than hard court or grass. As a result, the French Open is friendlier to players with different play styles. So even if a player manages to win the other three tournaments, it can still be quite hard to succeed at the French Open.
ATP World Tour Finals
The ATP World Tour Finals are also known as the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. This is a men’s pro tennis tournament which is held each November in London at the O2 Arena by the Association of Tennis Professionals. All matches are played indoors on hard courts. These are the concluding championships of the ATP World Tour season.
This tournament takes a round-robin format to determine which players will proceed to the semifinals, and ultimately, the finals.
The history of the ATP World Tour Finals dates back to 1970. At that time, the competition was referred to as the Masters Grand Prix. Since then, it has taken on a number of forms. The ATP started running the tour in 1990, at which point the event became known as the ATP Tour World Championship.
In 1999, the ITF got involved, and the event was called the Tennis Masters Cup. Finally, in 2009, the event was again renamed to the ATP World Tour Finals, its present incarnation.
While the Grand Slam is still considered the most important set of tennis tournaments every year, the ATP World Tour Finals is not far behind.
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international men’s team tennis event, and takes place annually. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) runs the Davis Cup, which features a knock-out format. It is sometimes referred to as the “World Cup of Tennis” and the winning team are known as World Champions.
The Davis Cup originated in 1900 as an international competition between the US and Great Britain. More and more nations got involved, and the competition grew each year into the juggernaut it is today.
In 2016, 130 countries sent teams to compete for the honor of becoming World Champions. As of right now, the honor of winning the most tournaments ever belongs to the US (32 in total), followed by Australia (28 in total).
There is an equivalent tournament held each year for women known as the Fed Cup. The Fed Cup is also a very prestigious event, but it does not get as much attention as the Davis Cup.
WTA Finals
The biggest event for women in tennis each year (aside from the Grand Slam) is the WTA Tour Championships, which wrap up the season for the WTA Tour organized by the Women’s Tennis Association.
The WTA Tour circuit actually consists of not only the concluding WTA Finals, but other events which I have already talked about. These include the Grand Slam tournaments and the Fed Cup, as well as the WTA Premier Tournaments, the WTA International Tournaments, and the Summer Olympics. New to the WTA Tour circuit in 2016 is the Hopman Cup. The Hopman Cup does not award ranking points.
The WTA Finals are usually considered the most prestigious event in the annual tennis season following the four events which are included in the Grand Slam. After the Grand Slam, the WTA Finals award the highest points and prize money.
And don’t forget that if you go to Bovada and use crypto to fund your account, you can turn your Welcome Bonus into $750 when you deposit with the code BTCSWB750!
Popular Types of Tennis Bets
Now that you know about some of the important tennis tournaments you can follow and bet on throughout the year, you are probably wondering what types of bets are available. There is a tremendous variety, so you will never run out of exciting opportunities. Here are a few common types of tennis bets:
- Winner Bet
- Handicap Bet
- Over/Under Bet
- Set Score Bet
- Futures Bet
- Tie Break Played Bet
- To Win 1st Set Bet
- Total Games Bet
- Prop Bet
If you are totally new to betting on tennis, there is a good chance this is the first type of bet you will end up placing. Winner bets are clear-cut and simple, which makes them easy to understand and popular for novices and sharps alike. You simply have to determine based on your knowledge of the participants and the context of the match who is likely to win. If you correctly choose the winner, you get the payout on your wager.
This is a bet which starts with points added or subtracted before a match begins. Once the match concludes, the score for the purposes of your wager includes the additions or subtractions. So if for example a player had 5 points subtracted before the match began, they would need to win by at least 6 points in order to make up that difference. Otherwise, even if they technically won the match, you would still lose your bet.
With this type of bet, you are attempting to determine how many sets will be in a match—specifically, whether that amount will be under or over a particular total. This kind of wager is sometimes also referred to as a “set totals” bet.
There may be times when you are not sure who will win a tennis match, but you are pretty sure you know roughly what the final score for a particular player might be. With this type of bet, you try to determine how many sets the player will win, and how many they are going to lose.
Futures bets are long-term bets placed on the outcome of competitions which may be weeks or even months away. Obviously it is very difficult to figure out what will happen in the tournament so far in advance, since you do not have as much information to use for your handicapping. Long shots like these are difficult to win, but if such a futures bet does succeed, you may receive a substantial payout.
While many sports books online offer futures bets, you will find that some sites present you with far more opportunity than others (there are a couple of sites I particularly recommend; scroll down to find out more).
If you think that there will be a tie break over the course of a match, you can place this type of bet.
This type of wager is self-explanatory from its name; you simply have to guess correctly which player will be the winner of the first set during the match.
Can you guess how many games will be played during a match? If so, this type of wager is a great way to make some money.
There are many different types of proposition bets which you can place for tennis. These will vary wildly from one sports book to the next. One example might be trying to figure out during which round a certain player will be eliminated.
Another example might be trying to determine which player will be in a tournament the longest. A couple of the wagers above are sometimes considered prop bets.
*Note: What if a player retires from a match? Will your wager be voided or will it be settled in favor of the player who didn’t retire? That depends on the bookmaker you are using. The rules can vary from one sportsbook to the next so always check the tennis betting rules on any site you are thinking of wagering on before you start placing bets!
Can You Bet On Tennis Live? Yes – Betting Live on Tennis
Another opportunity that you have online is to bet live in-play on various tennis events. Live betting has become a very popular activity over recent years, so it is offered by quite a few sportsbooks (we introduced some of those earlier). With live betting, you are placing your bets while a match is in progress. Because tennis is fast-paced, there are many times when you might not know what is going to happen going into a match, but after you have observed the players in action, you may glean a better understanding of what is taking place on the court.
You’ll find that many of the same types of bets which you can place before a match are also available in-play. You can also place wagers such as Next Game Winner, Next Set Winner, and Point Betting.
In order to bet live, you not only need to find a sportsbook which will offer you the opportunity, but you also need to find a way to watch tennis matches live. This means having a cable TV subscription or streaming online. If you do not have a cable subscription, or you are betting away from home, the ability to live stream tennis matches is incredibly helpful. So the best sportsbooks for live betting will be those which also provide you with a complimentary free stream.
There is one more thing you should be aware of before you start live streaming tennis matches and betting on them. The reality is that some live streams are more “live” than others. Laggy streams can be found both online and on television, so it is not necessarily better or worse to watch a match on TV or on the Internet. All that matters is the quality and speed of the specific stream you are watching.
More Great Betting Guides