The Grand Slam Stage is where tennis legends are made…and a savvy bettor can find unique opportunities. Betting on a tennis major requires a keen eye for strategy, discipline and values. Whether you’re chasing the thrills of a loser’s story or riding on a dominant favourite court sale, these tips will help you confidently navigate the 2025 French Open and other major tournaments.
Make 4 different bets
You may bet on tennis rather than picking the winner of the final tournament. Below are four types of bets that we recommend you research to find the best one for your bet style and risk tolerance.
1. The two early favourites of the Perlay
Strategic combination of two favorites in a parlay is an effective way to reduce juice and produce more favorable odds. This involves pairing strong favorites (e.g. -350) with slightly more risky favorites (-200) to balance the odds in places near even numbers, such as -105. By doing so, you will basically get “Payment” -105 for high-risk -200 plays, while incorporating your favorite security of a strong -350. Restricting the parlay to two players and including one high confidence pick ensures balance. This strategy works well in early major rounds where top seeds are usually facing lower ranked enemies.
2. Set the spread
In men’s Grand Slam tournaments, set spreads are often more valuable than game totals and game spreads, as they are in the best five format. This long form introduces more variance and comeback opportunities, and Set Sets become a strategic choice for optimizing returns. For example, supporting a strong player in -1.5 sets usually offers better odds than money line bets, while maintaining a strong chance of success
The set spread explains the advantages of elite players without the need for a complete sweep of the match. Favorites can win in 4 sets, covering -1.5 spreads, even if one set is in a tough fight. This is especially useful when your favorite unexpectedly loses focus on a set or face-resilient enemy.
For confident bettors who dominate players with straight sets, the -1.5 set spread offers efficient options with extra legroom, especially when offered with a different set spread or money line favorite. As the bet set expands, we assess factors such as match history of five sets, endurance, and keypoint advantage. ATP Tour Site Player Profiles provide a lot of information of this kind. Players with strong serves and offensive returns often excel at covering spreads, making this approach a valuable way to leverage the Grand Slam format for better odds than traditional games and money line bets.
3. “Win a quarter” bet
Betting on players to win a quarter of the draw is a sensible alternative to the bet of a complete tournament winner. This approach reduces risk while making the preferred drawing sections and specific matchups available. It also offers the flexibility to back up multiple players in different quarters and diversify your bets. To make an informed bet, consider important factors such as recent forms, head-to-head records, and surface settings.
4. “Final” bet
With the decline of the big three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the arena is on a level higher and it has become a wise strategy to bet on players who reach the final, rather than winning the tournament. Using this approach, players can benefit from strong performances from players, even if they lack the finals. It also offers opportunities to hedge bets more effectively as tournaments progress and underrated players are utilized with capital letters.
3 tips for betting on tennis
When you decide to place your bet, the information is everything. Here’s how to make sure your bets are notified as much as possible:
1. See matches: See beyond statistics
Unlike many other sports, such as golf and soccer, box scores and statistics often give you a clear understanding of what happened, but tennis requires a more nuanced approach. When it comes to bets, analyzing the data doesn’t always tell the perfect story. Watching the match gives you valuable insight into the impact of players’ dynamics, court surface behavior, weather conditions, and even date and time that can affect performance, such as sun position and shadows. Best Five Format adds another layer. In this layer, momentum changes and endurance plays a key role.
Watching matches and listening to commentary gives you subtle factors (elements rarely captured on the stats page), such as player body language, injury concerns, and tactical adjustments. Understanding how different playstyles interact and how players adapt matches is essential for making informed bets. Using this approach, you can get information that you don’t otherwise access, identify value, or find potential confusion. Tennis is a sport where stories unfold point-by-point, and watching live shows provides a context in which numbers cannot be fully conveyed.
2. Don’t bet early rounds
To refrain from heavy bets in the early rounds can be a wise strategy. Instead, we use this phase to observe the play conditions and how they affect different players. You will want to assess players’ game preparation and fitness levels and identify signs of fatigue or injury concerns. Early collection of this information allows for more informed strategic decisions to be made in the round after the field becomes narrower and player form becomes clearer.
3. Be selective and concentrate on high convictions
As daily game slates offer plenty of options, it is essential to maintain discipline and prioritize quality over quantity. Focus on strong insights and edges, situations where odds appear to be incorrect based on analysis, and opportunities in line with your overall betting strategy. Being selective and focusing on high convictions can improve your bankroll management and increase your chances of achieving long-term profitability.
A successful tennis bet requires patience, discipline and continuous learning. By implementing these strategies and adapting them to your own analysis and risk tolerance, you can increase your chances of success when betting on a tennis major.
