How to Bet on Tennis: The Complete Guide to Markets, Odds & Strategy 2025

Best Bookmakers for Betting on Tennis

You can join one or more of these bookmakers, secure the welcome bonus, and begin betting on your favourite tournaments, players, and markets.

The Most Popular Tennis Bets Explained

Visit any of the bookmakers listed above, click on the tennis betting tab, and you’ll uncover a long list of options. The leading apps ensure there’s a bet to suit every member, budget, and match. The better you understand these betting markets, the more likely you are to use them to secure a return on your next tennis wager.

Match winner

As there’s no possibility of a draw in professional tennis, you have a one-in-two chance of predicting the winner. Play the match winner market and bet on your preferred player. If they live up to expectations and win the match, you’ll bank a profit.

Set betting

A favourite of tennis bettors, especially those seeking decent odds, is set betting. You may see this market labelled correct score, but it’s the same bet. You are predicting which player will win and how they’ll achieve the result. If it’s a women’s match, for example, you can bet on Player A to beat Player B by two sets to one.

Handicap betting

Betting on a player with or against the handicap is popular with tennis followers, especially in matches where there’s a strong favourite. An example of handicap betting in tennis is the favourite minus 1.5 sets vs the opponent with a 1.5 set head start. If backing the -1.5 set player, you need them to win by at least two sets. If backing the +1.5 set player, you need them to win or remain within the handicap.

Over/Under sets

Your bookmaker will set the total sets line, and you must play the over or under. For example, if it’s a Grand Slam final and the traders set their line at 3.5 sets, you’d bet on 3-0 for lower, or if you expect a more competitive match, you can bet on over 3.5 sets, meaning you’d need a 3-1 final score or better.

First set winner

Predicting the first set winner is an interesting approach. With this market, it doesn’t matter who wins the match; you’re focusing on the opening set only. If you expect the underdog to make a fast start, you can bet on them winning the first set at a decent price. But if you expect the favourite to lay down a marker early, you can bet on them securing a 1-0 lead.

How to Analyse a Tennis Tournament: A Strategy Guide

Here are the most important aspects to consider when making data-driven and informed predictions on professional tennis. Each section will improve your understanding of a match and ramp up your strike rate when betting.

Current player form

Understanding the form of both players is key to helping you beat the bookies and bank a profit when gambling on tennis. Do your homework and study how a player has performed in their most recent games or the last competition. Did they make it to the final of the previous tournament before jumping into a Grand Slam, or did they go out early and enjoy a rest?

Competition history

It’s worth reviewing how a player has performed in a specific competition or on a particular court in the past. If you check the stats and see a player has won three of the last five Wimbledon Championships, including the most recent, you have a strong foundation to bet. If they’ve struggled at a tournament and are likely to do so again, you can use that information to remove them from the outright betting list.

Key player statistics

The more you know about a player, the more likely you are to correctly predict their results. I want to emphasise the importance of the statistics. How has a player performed against a certain opponent? Do they usually make it to a certain round of a Grand Slam before being eliminated? What is their current world ranking? How do they handle playing against big servers? Have they suffered an early elimination in the past?

Surface

Betting on tennis is different from betting on other popular sports, such as football and American Football, as the surface can change from one competition to the next. The best players, like Novak Djokovic, have become all-rounders, able to perform on hard courts, grass courts, and others. But most players have their preferred surface and also struggle on certain courts.

The Flashscore Advantage: Your Essential Tennis Research Tool

Now that you understand the importance of properly researching your selections before parting with your stake and betting online, we’ll now change direction. Where do you find the most reliable, accurate, and up-to-date stats needed to beat the bookies?

Flashscore has everything you need when you need it. You can study the stats and trends on the Flashscore website at home, or identify the value in the live betting odds on the move using the modern mobile app. Here’s how to find what you need.

Live game-by-game scores

Flashscore’s live scores are essential for following your bets or identifying the trends that could land you an in-play profit. Enjoy the latest scores without delay on your laptop or mobile, ensuring you never miss a beat. You can track the updates and see a player on a winning streak. That may encourage you to bet on them to win the current set or the next match.

Check player form

Visit Flashscore and click on the tennis tab. Locate the tournament that interests you the most, and then an upcoming fixture. Click the player’s name for their recent form. You can track what competitions they’ve played in recently and how they’ve performed. You’ll see head-to-head meetings, details of any injuries, and more. If it’s worth knowing and useful to your bets, it’ll be ready to view now at Flashscore.

Tournament statistics

Each tennis tournament presents unique challenges, and understanding how players handle these obstacles could help you narrow the field and pick an outright winner. Gambling apps offer dozens of betting markets on each match, but they also offer outright betting on tournaments like Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open. There are even updated stats on which players are already into the next round and who they might face.

A guide to live betting on tennis

The licensed and regulated bookmakers featured on this page offer live betting, allowing you to gamble on matches that have already begun. Live tennis betting comes with unique challenges, and Flashscore arms you with the latest info. Here’s how to use Flashscore when betting on live tennis.

Following the scoreboard

The latest tennis scoreboard at Flashscore helps you identify what might happen next in a game or set. Follow the flow of a game and the latest score, including the outcome of the previous game, to spot the betting value. If a player has started much faster than expected, you can bet on them to win the first set. If it’s a whitewash, you can back them to win to nil in the set betting. There are many exciting ways to bet in-play on tennis.

Identifying players in rhythm

Follow the players who are enjoying great form in a game, scoring several aces or breaking the serve of their opponent. If they are easing through their matches, almost without breaking sweat, and are advancing to the later rounds, you may fancy betting on them to win the title. Flashscore also shows their next fixture and future opponents, allowing you to research early and capitalise on the value.