Your Ultimate Guide to Bet on Tennis and Win Online

The Best 3 Florida Tennis Betting Sites in 2024

Out of all tennis betting sites, I picked the best three for Florida and US players according to strict quality control criteria. The following sportsbooks are reviewed and verified for validity, licensure, fair payouts, safe banking, competitive odds, user-friendly interface, mobile betting, customer service, and overall user experience.

1. BetOnline: Best Overall Betting Site

With over two decades of solid record and reputation in the online gambling industry, BetOnline is the first and best choice for online tennis betting. With a generous sports welcome bonus of $1,000, reload bonuses, crypto gambling, VIP rewards, referral promotions, early cashouts, and the best tennis odds, BetOnline checks all the boxes as a reliable online betting site. 

There is an extensive tennis options to bet on, including but not limited to:

• ATP
• WTA
• ATP & WTA Doubles
• Challenger
• Tennis Futures

Legal Alert: Players from New Jersey are restricted from BetOnline services.

2. Sportsbetting: Best for High Stakes Bettors

Sportsbetting is a relatively new name in the online gambling scene, and it has the same management and licensure as BetOnline. You can rest assured that the website offers world-class sports betting services, including early lines and competitive tennis odds. 

The main difference between the two platforms is that punters from all US states are welcome to bet on their favorite tennis matches at Sportsbetting. Also, given the minimum deposit of $100, this website is ideal for sports bettors with larger bankrolls. 

Aside from these minor differences and a more limited bonus library, Sportsbetting is quite similar to BetOnline in terms of the quality and quantity of tennis betting.

3. Bovada: Best For Exotic Bets

With over 300 betting options, Bovada offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive tennis betting libraries. Although US players are welcome, punters from NJ, NY, NV, DE, MD, and recently, Michigan are restricted from Bovada gambling services due to US States Gambling Laws and Regulations. If you reside in any of the states mentioned above, choose one of the other options. Florida residents can easily sign up at Bovada. 

Although not as extensive as BetOnline, Bovada promotions reward new and existing sports bettors with various bonuses, including but not limited to a $750 Sports Welcome Bonus and a $750 Crypto Sports Welcome Bonus. 

Aside from the quality of services, variety of betting options, and competitive odds, Bovada has excellent customer service with well-trained and super friendly human agents. I am not happy with the navigation process to the customer support, but once you reach the agent, you will leave the live chat satisfied.

How to Bet on Tennis Online: Odds and Payouts Explained (+ Examples)

Although tennis cannot reach the worldwide popularity of soccer, it is pretty popular among novices and pro-bettors. In addition to year-round matches and extensive publicly available stats, a wide variety of wagering options makes tennis betting ideal for finding value bets.

Tennis Moneyline Betting

Moneyline is the most basic form of sports betting, where you pick the winner of a match or event. A negative number represents the favorite, while a positive sign assigns to the underdog. Look at the example below:

As shown in the table, Federer is the underdog, meaning he has a lower chance of winning the game, and if you want to bet on him, you should risk $100 to win $145, and your net winning will be $245 if he gets lucky.

On the other hand, Novak has a higher chance of winning, making him less risky to back. So, you should place $165 to win $100, and your net winning will be $265. In general, the favorite is less risky to bet. Still, it offers lower payouts, while the underdog is riskier to wager on but offers more juicy payouts.

Tennis Futures 

As the name suggests, you pick a winner before or during a tennis event. In tennis, you can place future bets up until the quarterfinals. For example, if you are a Nadal fan, you can place a future bet on him winning the pre-tournament for winning the title at the French Open.

Tennis Spread Betting

Spread betting or handicapping is when two players have uneven chances of winning, and bookmakers give a distinct advantage to one player and a disadvantage to the other to even out the line. Handicapping focuses more on players’ performance than the final result. Like the point spread in football, basketball, and other sports, bookmakers set handicaps on tennis sets and games to even the playing field.

 Point spreads are not used in Tennis betting. Instead, tennis spread odds are based on sets or games.

Set Spread Bets

As the name suggests, in tennis set spread betting, you wager on the number of sets a player wins or loses during a match. Look at the example below:

In this example, if you bet on Novak, he must win the match in straight sets (3-0) or in four sets (3-1) for you to win. 

If the match goes to five sets (meaning Roger Federer wins at least two sets), Novak wouldn’t have covered the spread, and your wager will lose.

On the flip side, Federer’s fans need him to win at least one set in the match for their bet slip to pay out. Even if he loses the match in three sets (1-2), they’ve covered the spread because they won one set (1), and bettors will win. 

Market Alert: Set spreads are typically used in best-of-five set matches, which are more common in major tournaments like the Grand Slams.

Game Spread Bets

Game spreads are less common than set spreads in tennis betting. In this market, you wager on the game instead of sets. In other words, you should predict the player will win by how many games and bet on that. In this type of tennis bet, one player must win by more than the margin the bookmaker offers, while the other player should stay within the margin. For instance, look at the example below:

In this example, Novak is set at -4.5, which means he must win by at least five games for your bet on him to win. Here, there will be two possible scenarios:

• Novak wins the match 6-3, 6-4 (10 games to 7). In this case, your bet wins because he won by a margin of 3 games (which is more than the 4.5 spread).
• Novak wins 7-5, 6-4 (13 games to 9). Your bet loses because he only won by four games (not enough to cover the 4.5 spread).

What is the underdog advantage in game spread? 

The underdog game spread of +4.5 means Muray can win the match outright, or lose by a maximum of 4 games for his fans’ bets to win. So, even if he loses 6-4, 7-6 (narrowly in a tiebreaker) for a total of 13 games to Djokovic’s 12, bets on Murray would win because he only lost by 1 game (well within the +4.5 spread).

Total Bets 

Total or over/under is another tennis betting market. This market does not involve picking the winner of the match. Instead, bettors should predict the length of the match in terms of the number of games played. In other words, you will wager on whether the entire match will have more or less than a specific number of games.

Look at this example:

In this example, if you think Novak and Federer will play more than 22 games(scores like 7-6, 6-4 in each set), you bet on the over and place $125 to win $100. On the other hand, if you think they combine to play 22 games or fewer, you bet on under and place $100 to win $105. 

Betting Alert: All tennis matches are either best of three or best of five sets. You can also place an over/under tennis bet on the number of sets played. Set over/under bets are always set at 2.5.  

Tennis Live Betting

Live or in-play betting adds to the thrill of any kind of sports betting, and Tennis matches are no exception. In this market, you can place your bets while the match is being played. Although watching the game and betting in real-time is fun, live betting may be difficult for newbies. Because lines keep updating in response to the game changes, you should monitor every change, analyze, and make decisions in the blink of an eye. For example, you have to monitor the players’ pre-match physical condition, weather, players’ body language, live stats, and pre-match predictions. So, you must have enough knowledge of the game and players to place a successful tennis live wager.

Here is a breakdown of live tennis betting strategies:

1. Set Betting: if you believe one player dominates the match and is likely to win the next set, you can bet on them winning the next set. 
2. Total Betting: If you think there will be an unusual number of service breaks or when you believe the match will be close, betting on the total number of games played in the match is a wise tennis betting strategy.  
3. Handicap Betting: when one player is clearly better than the other, betting on them to win by a certain number of games can be a winning tennis bet.
4. Next Point/ Game/ Set Winner:  this is a particularly risky tennis betting strategy because it is difficult to accurately predict the winner of the next point, game, or set. However, this betting option can be very rewarding if you successfully predict. 
5. Next Player to Break: this is a kind of tennis prop live bet where you can bet on the player you think will break serve next. This is a good wager for players you think struggle to hold serve.

Prop Bets

Tennis propositional or prop bets include wagers on something happening or not happening during a game. In other words, prop bets are independent of the game’s outcome. For example, “Will there be a tiebreak in the match?” Prop bets are particularly popular during Grand Slam events, like Wimbledon.

What Are the Best Strategies for Successful Tennis Betting?

1. Outright Winner: betting on the winner of a tennis match is the easiest wager and is best for newcomers to sports betting. All you have to do is pick the tennis player that you think will win the match and bet on them.
2. Head-to-Head Stats: Look into past matchups. Are there any patterns of dominance or statistics that tend to favor one player? Consider this when making your bet.
3. Surface Matters: Tennis players have preferred surfaces (grass, clay, hard court) which means they may not perform well on some surfaces. Research a player’s past performance on the specific court type to assess their chances of winning.
4. Live Bets: Take advantage of live betting, but make sure you have enough knowledge and concentration because injuries, momentum shifts, and unexpected performance can all change lines in the blink of an eye. 
5. Practice Value Betting: Don’t just rely on bookmaker odds. Based on your research, experience, and knowledge, calculate your own odds for a match outcome and try to find the best value for a given match. Top tennis betting sites like BetOnline allow you to request your own odds for a specific match.

Final Thoughts

Tennis betting might be more complex than other sports due to the differing rules and scoring systems. But with extensive betting opportunities, betting on tennis can be pretty profitable if you take the time and effort to learn the basics of tennis, the essentials of sports betting, stay committed to responsible gambling, and wager on trusted online sportsbooks.