Tennis betting guide for 2024

Q: How many sets are in a tennis match?

Tennis matches are either a best-of-five or best-of-three set format. Best-of-five sets are typically only for men's singles matches at Grand Slam or Davies Cup matches, while best-of-three sets are employed for women's, men's and mixed doubles events. The exception is Wimbledon, where the men's doubles matches are best-of-five sets.

Q: How is a tennis match scored?

A tennis match is made up of three phrases: a game, a set and a match. A player needs to score four (or more) points to win a game. A set (made up of a collection of games) is won when a player scores six (or more) games. Finally, a match is either played to best-of-three or five sets. Men's championship matches are typically best-of-five sets, while women's are usually best-of-three. A game can either be won if one player scores four points (15, 30, 40, game-winning point), or if the play goes to 'deuce' (40-40), then a player must then score two consecutive points ('advantage' and game-winning point) to win the game. If the opposing player scores when at advantage, then the play returns to deuce and continues until the two consecutive points have been scored. To win a set, players must have an advantage of two or more clear games or win a tiebreak after the scoreline reaches 6-6.

Q: Who is the no. 1 tennis player in the world?

The current world no. 1 is Novak Djokovic. For the women's singles, the current world no. 1 is Ashleigh Barty. Of course, this is all subject to change depending on how they perform in this year's tournaments hosted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP and the WTA.

Q: How do I watch tennis in Canada?

Canadian bettors with an Amazon Prime subscription will be pleased to know that they can watch the vast majority of tennis matches on the ATP and WTA tours. The exceptions are the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. Visit our guides to these Grand Slams to find out how you can watch them live in Canada.

Q: How do you bet on tennis and win?

There are many different ways to bet on tennis, but some of the most popular include the moneyline, the game or set spread, and over/under betting. Tennis fans can wager on just about any men's or women's tennis tournament. The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open are the most popular, but you can also bet on team events like the Davis Cup. The Canadian Open is also widely popular in Canada. Like all forms of betting, it helps to be knowledgeable about the game, or at least particular players and matches, to stand the best chance of winning. Research should be a key part of your tennis betting strategy. Tennis info and analysis is available on ESPN, TSN, Sportsnet and other CA or international websites. You can also make use of various tipsters who offer tennis betting picks and predictions.

Q: What is the best way to bet on tennis?

While there is no 'best way' to bet on tennis, by far the most popular bet is the moneyline – in other words, betting on a player to win the match. Other popular markets include the game or set spread, or the over/under bet.

Q: How do you read tennis betting lines?

If you've ever enjoyed online gambling, tennis betting lines work just like the odds and payouts in other sports. Tennis gambling lines simply show you how much real money you stand to win A negative number beside a player's name shows you how much CAD you'll need to wager if you want to make a C&dollar;100 profit A positive number indicates how much profit you'll make on a C&dollar;100 real money bet These lines are expressed in American odds, but you may also encounter British odds (which use fractions) and decimals. Learn more about betting lines in our guide.

Q: If a tennis player retires, is the bet void?

Many people query what happens to a tennis bet if a player retires. Well, this very much depends on the sportsbook you're using, and the type of bet being placed. There are various tennis betting retired rules. Some sportsbooks will use the 'Ball Served' rule, which means that if the player you're backing retires after one serve of the ball, you'll lose your bet. Others may go with the 'One Set Completed' or 'Two Set Completed' rule, so if a player retires before one full set or two full sets, your bet is void and you'll get your money back. There's also the 'Match Completed' rule, which means that if your player retires at any point before the match is completed, the bet will be graded as void and your money returned to you.

Whether it's the ATP or WTA, betting on tennis tournaments online is easy, convenient and a great way to add a little extra excitement to a game you already love to watch.

Our handy tennis betting guide tells you everything you need to know about wagering on the much-loved sport, from tennis betting odds explained to rules, tips and strategies.

Best tennis betting sites in Canada

Canada’s top sportsbook

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See our 100+ reviews

How to bet on tennis

Choose one of our recommended sportsbooks in Canada.
Sign up, log in and find the sports section.
Click on the 'tennis' section.
Choose a market you wish to bet on.
Select your preferred wager and add it to your betslip.
Enter your stake to see how much you could win.
Confirm the bet, and you're good to go!

Tennis betting explained

Whether you're a fanatic, occasional spectator, or simply want to enter the thrilling world of online sports betting, tennis is a great sport to bet on, offering up lots of great wagering opportunities.

Here are a few of the biggest reasons Canadians love betting on tennis:

The calendar is always jam-packed with great tours and matches
Bets can be made on matches happening throughout the year
While the Grand Slam tournaments – including the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open – are the top real money draws, that's just the beginning. The Davis Cup and ATP Masters all feature heavily in online sportsbooks' markets

Hit the 'Tennis' tab on your Canadian online sportsbook and you'll find a full list of tours and Slams to wager on. In most cases, you can bet on the outright winner months in advance. The odds change over time as favourites rack up wins or get injured.

Individual matches usually have around 15-20 markets on them, from the winner of the match to the set score (e.g. 2-0, 3-1 etc) and the winner of the first set. Find out more about the different bet types below.

How tennis odds work

Unsure of how tennis betting odds work? Don't worry. To give you a clearer picture, we've put together an example using men's tennis odds:

Novak Djokovic

1.40

Daniil Medvedev

3.10

World no. 1 Djokovic is the favourite to win the 2021 US Open final, while his opponent, Daniil Medvedev, is the betting underdog. To win C$100 in profit, you would need to bet C$250 if backing Djokovic and just C$48 if backing Medvedev.

When working with decimals, the potential winnings include the stake, so you simply need to multiply the odds by your stake to calculate the return. In the case of a bet on Djokovic, this would look like this: 250 x 1.40 = 350. Then, to work out your profit, you simply minus the stake (C$250) from the total payout (C$350), leaving you with C$100 profit.

The payout odds are always greater when you bet on the underdog, but of course there's more risk involved. In the case of this match, Medvedev ended up winning the Grand Slam final, so the risk would have paid off.

We're using decimal odds here, but betting odds can also be expressed as fractions or in the American moneyline style. Check out our odds calculator below to see how the different odds and prices compare.

Popular tennis bets

There are many different ways to bet on tennis. Some of the best tennis bets today include wagering on the moneyline, the game or set spread, or the over/under. We'll take you through how some of the most popular bets work below:

Moneyline betting

One of the most popular sports bets on the market, a moneyline bet is simply betting on which player will win the match. In the case of the above example, we know Djokovic is the favourite as his odds are lower than Medvedev's.

Eg:

Novak Djokovic
1.40

Daniil Medvedev
3.10
Handicap betting

Tennis handicap betting, or spread betting, aims to level the playing field when you have a situation whereby a champion is going up against a lower-ranked or less experienced player. In handicap betting, instead of focusing on the final result of the match, you can instead bet on how a player will win by a number of games or sets.

For instance, let's consider a match between Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov. As Nadal is the obvious favourite, bookmakers could offer a handicap of +3.5 games to Dimitrov. At the end of the best-of-three-set match, the result is 6-7, 4-6, 6-5 in favour of Nadal, with the Spanish player winning 18 games and Dimitrov 16.

But, after applying the +3.5 handicap to Dimitrov's final game score, we can see that he is now the winner of this bet (16 + 3.5 = 19.5).

Eg: Grigor Dimitrov
+3.5
Set betting

For set betting in tennis, there are various options, such as predicting the winner of the first or second set, or even the result in games of a particular set, as illustrated in this example.

Eg: Milos Raonic
to beat Rafael Nadal

6-3 in the
second set
7.50

or

the first set
ends 7-5
6.00
Over/under betting

Tennis betting over/under is a wager on the total number of games or sets played in a match. So, if looking at women's tennis odds, let's consider a match between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jasmine Paolini.

The over/under for total games has been set at 21.5 by sportsbooks. If Alexandrova ends up winning the match in two sets (6-4, 6-3), those who bet 'under' would have won their wager as the match only went to 19 games.

Eg:

Over
21.5
1.91

Under
21.5
1.87
Prop bets

Prop bets, or proposition bets, are great for those of you looking to spice up your online betting experience. Tennis prop bets are pretty wide-ranging, covering everything from which player will win the first set, how many sets a player will win by, whether or not there will be a tiebreak, etc.

Be aware that these types of bets come with much greater risk and are generally only offered during major tournaments.
In-play betting

When it comes to live or in-play betting, it doesn't get much for exciting than tennis. Live tennis odds can fluctuate rapidly as the match unfolds, with sportsbooks adjusting the prices to reflect the sudden shifts in play, so you need to be on your A game to ensure you don't miss out on a decent profit.

When it comes to in-play tennis betting tips, we recommend paying attention to the markets throughout the match as quite often in tennis the underdog will re-enter the game after being two sets down and in some cases, go on to win.

We also strongly suggest doing your research when it comes to things like stats and players prior to the match to inform your tennis in-play betting strategy.

OGCA's tennis betting tips

We've put together a few expert tips to help you develop the best tennis betting strategy:

Study playing styles

As a bettor, you should always do your homework and in the case of tennis, get to know different players' style of play. Federer, for instance, is an offensive player – meaning he takes risks to create opportunities to deliver winning shots – while Nadal is more of a defensive player.

Federer is also famed for his smooth, graceful game, while Nadal is much stronger and uses his muscle mass to gain the advantage. This is what makes matches between these two great players so thrilling to watch.

Assess playing surfaces

Along with playing styles, you'll also want to consider playing surfaces before determining the best player to bet on. Nadal, for instance, is regarded as the 'king of clay', which is why he is typically the favourite for the French Open.

Meanwhile, Federer is widely considered the greatest grass court player of all time and was once unbeatable at Wimbledon.

Specialize in a niche

Because there are so many tournaments and markets to bet on in tennis, it's worth developing a niche strategy so you can make the best use of your expert knowledge in that particular area.

Tennis tournament schedule 2022

Date	Tournament	Location
May 22 – Jun 5	French Open	Paris, France
Jun 27 – Jul 10	Wimbledon	London, England
Aug 30 – Sept 12	US Open	Flushing Meadows, New York, US
Oct 31 – Nov 6	WTA Finals	Shenzhen, China
Nov 13-20	ATP Finals	Turin, Italy
Nov 25 – Dec 5	Davis Cup	Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck

Tennis betting apps & mobile options

You don't need to worry about missing any of the online sports betting action. Today's tennis betting fans can easily place bets on their mobiles and tablets.

The majority of top sportsbooks today also have downloadable apps for both iPhone and Android. Of course, some of you may simply prefer to visit the site and place bets through your mobile browser rather than downloading software. The choice is yours.

Here's our pick of the top 5 sportsbook mobile apps:

Betway: features the same markets and games as the desktop version
22Bet: instant access to live broadcasts, plus live match statistics
888sport: attractive design and easy-to-use navigation
Pinnacle: great selection of classic and new betting markets
Sports Interaction: responsive live betting interface

Tennis betting bonuses

In today's fiercely competitive betting market, top tennis betting websites need to be one step ahead of the game to ensure that they continue to retain and attract customers. One effective way of doing this is by offering bonuses:

Welcome bonus
- The instant you sign up with a sportsbook, you usually receive a free bet – or a boost to multiply your initial deposit
- Nowadays it is unusual for a sportsbook not to offer a welcome bonus because of the need to stand out in their market place
- Always take a few minutes to check the T&Cs – it's essential to know that the bonus doesn't include any awkward conditions
Enhanced odds
- When there's a big tennis event in the offing, maintain a keen watch for an offer of enhanced odds
- Ordinarily this will apply to the game result, but sometimes it will be applied to another popular market
- New and existing customers are normally offered enhanced odds. Look out for limitations on your stake, though
VIP club
- Once you have been a loyal customer of a sportsbook for some time, you may be tempted to extend that loyalty by joining a VIP club
- Customers singled out like this are made to feel special, as if they are part of an elite
- Being in the club may have fringe benefits such as free bets and access to exclusive offers and enhanced prices

How we review the best tennis sites

Licensing:
Does the site offer SSL encryption and have the right level of licensing and certification?
Security:
Can we be certain the site is honest and safe?
Range of bets:
Does it offer a really broad selection of tennis bets?
Bonuses:
Which ones are on offer? In such a competitive sector, sportsbooks need to find inventive ways to give extra value to bettors.
Payment options:
Does the site offer several? And does it offer more generous payout percentages?

FAQs

When is the next tennis tournament?

The great thing about tennis is that it is all-year round. Some of the big tournaments up next include Wimbledon, the US Open and the Davis Cup. See the full tournament schedule with dates above.

How many sets are in a tennis match?

How is a tennis match scored?

Who is the no. 1 tennis player in the world?

How do I watch tennis in Canada?

How do you bet on tennis and win?

What is the best way to bet on tennis?

How do you read tennis betting lines?

If a tennis player retires, is the bet void?