Tennis Betting Tips

Nailing a tennis betting strategy is pretty straightforward once you’ve got your system in place. Tennis is the perfect sport for pre-match and live betting, because there are fewer variables compared to team sports like football and cricket. Here, you’re betting on one or two people to do the business for you.

It means bettors can more confidently create a betting on tennis strategy that works for them, and keep using it over the course of a season. And if you’re looking for tennis bet tips then you’re in the right place.

In this guide we’ll take you through the tennis tips bet experts want you to know about, and why placing one mega wager isn’t always the best option…

What are the best tennis bets?

Before we look at any tennis bet strategy, it’s important to know what types of bets we’re dealing with. The Bet UK sportsbooks has thousands of tennis bets available to punters every week of the season. And here are the six most common wagers players like to place…

Match Betting: This is the simplest type of tennis wager, and it involves betting on who will win the match. The fact you can’t get a draw in tennis means there are fewer variables to worry about compared to, say, football. It's a very popular bet because of its simplicity.

Set Betting: Here, you predict the exact score in sets. It’s available on every Bet UK-featured tennis match. This is a more precise wager that can offer higher potential returns, but it's also riskier.

Handicap Betting: In handicap betting, you give one player a hypothetical advantage (or disadvantage), and bets are made based on this. This way you can level out the odds when there’s a heavy favourite. Read more about Handicap Betting here.

Over/Under Betting: Over/Unders involve predicting whether the total number of games or sets in a match will be over or under a number set by the bookmaker. Read more about Over/Under Betting

Futures Betting: This is where you can wager on who will win a tournament, or perhaps how many grand slams a player might win. The odds for futures bets are usually quite high, especially if the bet is placed early in the tournament or before it even begins.

Live tennis betting: Bet UK offers extensive live betting odds on tennis matches throughout the season. It means you can react to events on court, take advantage of odds changes, and time your wagers to perfection. Find more about Live Betting.

Top Tennis Betting Strategies

Using the above bet types as a marker, we can now look at a few smart tennis betting strategies that expert punters deploy. Now, these strategies aren’t for everyone, and you’ll need to weigh up a few things yourself before adopting one. After all, every punter is different, and a strategy may not be compatible with your risk level, budget, or personality.

Here are the top tennis betting strategies to consider when you head over to the Bet UK sportsbook…

Bet low and often

The best tennis betting strategy for any newcomer to the game is to bet low and often. This has a dual impact. It doesn’t ruin your budget because you’re only placing small wagers, while the regularity of your bets increases your knowledge of the game. The logic goes that the more you bet, the better you get at it. But you don’t want to blow your budget on one mega bet that loses.

Betting as low as 50p or £1 on matches can still be enough to make it entertaining, and if you place the right bets you could be in for a healthy profit. Only after you’ve done this for a while should you then “step up” to bigger wagers. It’s all about confidence and taking those small steps to success, instead of trying to sprint to the finish line.

Group the favourites

One of the top tennis bet tips any expert will point to is grouping favourites in tournaments. This is all part of accumulator or combination betting, usually known as an acca. Here, you back a number of bets and lump them together into mega wager. In doing so you greatly enhance your odds, and therefore your potential profit.

Now, the issue with accas is that they lose if one of your bets within it loses. The solution is to bet on heavy favourites, especially in the men’s game. There are fewer upsets in men’s tennis than women’s tennis, so you’re more likely to nail guaranteed wins across your acca, even if individually the odds are slim.

Start with a small acca here on a few heavy favourites. Once you get the hang of it, you can expand your horizons and seek more complicated – but still likely to win – wagers.

Seek upsets in women’s tennis

As we just mentioned, men’s tennis is more predictable than women’s tennis. The favourite is more likely to win in the men’s game because it is so heavily dominated by strength and baseline durability. In the women’s game, variables such as playing surface, form and playing styles come into play much more.

Therefore if you’re betting on tennis and seeking an against-the-odds wager, the women’s singles is where you’re likely to thrive. Look for top seeds who are coming back from injury and playing on their unfavoured surfaces, and bet against them. And keep an eye out for rising stars who have won a few lesser-ranked tournaments and back them on similar court conditions.

Start early at Grand Slams

Much like grouping men’s favourites into an acca, it’s always worth chasing near-guaranteed wins at the start of grand slams. Rarely do we see top seeds in the men's singles draw fall at the first hurdle. The five-set format reduces upsets. Because of this, the big boys usually carry short odds in the early rounds of Flushing Meadows or Roland Garros, so start early and add them into a big acca.

It’s also worth looking at the grand slam qualifying rounds for easy wins here. Players who regularly get into home slams – such as the Brits at Wimbledon, or the Americans in New York – are worth siding with.

Wait for live bet opportunities

Live tennis betting is a great way to get closer to the action, but rarely do experienced punters dive straight in. If you can live stream games or follow the point-by-point stats at Bet UK then you’ll be able to make smarter decisions on your bet choices.

But remember, you have an entire match to place your wagers. The best thing to do is take your time, figure out how the match might play out, and then look at the odds. For example, if the top seed at Wimbledon nails an early break in the first set of a men’s second-round match, they’re probably on for a three-set victory. That’s the moment to confidently back a 3-0 win in the live odds, rather than risking that wager before the match began.

Tennis Tips & FAQs

What is the best Tennis Bet?

The best tennis bet is a winning one, but sadly there’s no guaranteed winning bet in tennis. Tennis betting strategies include: betting low and often, using accas in men's tennis, and backing upsets in women’s tennis.

Are there tennis betting strategies?

Yes. There are loads of tennis betting strategies, including: betting low and often, timing bets via live tennis odds, starting early at grand slams, and grouping favourites into accumulators.

What is the best Wimbledon bet?

The best Wimbledon bet is, of course, a winning one! While there’s no guarantee you’ll win a Wimbledon bet, some tips include: betting early on favourites in the men’s singles, backing upsets in the women’s singles, back top men’s singles seeds to not drop sets. If you're looking for Wimbledon tips, check out our blog.

What are the most popular bets in tennis?

The most popular tennis bets are: match bets, result bets, over/unders, handicaps and live betting on points.