Best Tennis Betting Sites in the UK in 2020

Plenty of tennis fans want to try betting, but don’t know where to start.

This is why we’ve put together a guide to tennis betting, including expert betting strategies, a step-by-step how-to, and everything you need to get started.

We even put together a list of trusted tennis betting sites in the UK, so you don’t have to worry about your online safety while betting on tennis.

Quick Navigation

• 🏆 ➜ back to our list of the top tennis betting sites in the UK
• 🧠 ➜ head to our expert tennis betting advice
• 🎾 ➜ our recommended tennis betting markets
• ⭐ ➜ learn about tennis betting bonuses
• ❓ ➜ go to our tennis betting FAQs

How to Choose the Best Tennis Betting Site?

So just what is it that makes a top-class tennis betting site? Well, most importantly you need to know that your chosen online bookmaker can be trusted. The quality of their odds is obviously crucial too, while we like to see as many tennis betting markets as possible also.

We keep an eye out for tennis betting promotions like money back specials or enhanced tennis odds. In our view, it is tough to separate bet365, Unibet and William Hill when it comes to betting on tennis in the UK. You can find out more about what each of those bookies has to offer in the next few sections below…

 bet365

Bet365 is a go-to bookie for many tennis punters and it is not difficult to see why. They are long established as an industry leader in Europe and their tennis coverage is second to none. They cover all the biggest tournaments on the tennis calendar, including all ATP, ATP Challenger and ITF tournaments.

At bet365 betting is available on the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open. You can also stream thousands of tennis matches live every year with bet365 on both desktop and mobile. If you want to know more about this top-notch tennis betting site, read our bet365 review.

 Unibet

Just like with bet365, you can bet on all of the major ATP and ITF events throughout the season with Unibet. More often than not, Unibet have a solid welcome offer for UK customers and it is always nice to get a bonus when you open a new betting account.

Unibet's live streaming feature is also available for many tennis events and you will usually find at least one or two tennis promotions for the Grand Slams. In-play tennis betting can be accessed on both desktop and mobile and the Unibet mobile app is also worth a second look. There is no doubt that Unibet is one of the best tennis betting sites in the UK, find out more in our Unibet review.

 William Hill

Everyone in the UK has heard of William Hill, one of the leading high street bookmakers since launching in 1934. They have adapted to the new age of online betting and we rate them as one of the best tennis betting sites in the UK. William Hill’s promotional offers for tennis are renowned amongst tennis punters, so watch out for specials for all the biggest tennis tournaments.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to access live tennis streaming with William Hill, but their in-play tennis betting suite more than makes up for that. They also have quality mobile apps for Android and Apple devices, while they usually have a more than decent welcome offer too. To learn more about some of the cool features and tennis promotions at William Hill, check out our review.

How to Bet on Tennis?

Betting on tennis might seem complicated to those who are new to it, but it's pretty easy to get started with tennis betting. All you need to do is follow a few, simple steps:

1. Watch tennis matches:
   This might seem obvious, but the more familiar you are with the sport itself, the easier it will be to make betting decisions. Tennis betting, like most other types of betting, is all about being able to read the signs and make an informed prediction. 
2. Choose a betting site:
   The only way you can start placing bets on tennis is to register an account on a tennis betting site or two. There are dozens of online bookmakers our there, of varying degrees of quality, which is why we recommend sticking to our list of the top UK tennis betting sites. We recommend signing up to at least two to make sure you always get the best deals.
3. Make a plan:
   For starters, you should pick a tennis tournament to bet on. Then, set yourself a budget for the tournament and choose which matches you'd like to watch and bet on.
4. Build your bet slip:
   Follow our expert tennis betting advice below to start deciding on your bets. Remember that there are tons of betting markets to choose from, so don't just stick to match-winner bets! 
5. Check odds and promotions:
   Before confirming your bet, make sure you haven't missed any tennis betting promotions that could add value to your wagers. Also, make sure to shop around for odds to make sure you're getting the best deal, as we show you in our section on finding the best tennis betting odds below. 
6. Confirm your bets and wait for the results:
   Once you're sure about all your choices, place your bets. We definitely recommend watching the match live if possible. It's our favourite way to cap off the tennis betting experience!

Expert Tennis Betting Advice

There are a number of areas that you should always explore before having a bet on tennis. Things like stats, form and head to head records are important and you should carry out plenty of research before putting your money down. Our tennis betting experts have a couple of tricks up their sleeves that might just help you find a winning tennis bet or two. Check out their tennis betting tips and advice below…

Tennis Betting Strategy

• 🎾 Surface Suitability:
  In professional tennis, there are three main types of court surface. Grass, Clay and Hard Courts are the three categories and some players are specialists on certain surfaces. For example, Roger Federer is lethal on grass, but when it comes to clay he usually has to play second fiddle to Rafa Nadal. Generally speaking, players who like to serve and volley are more suited by grass and hard courts, while baseline players do best on the slower clay.
• 🎾 Head To Head Stats:
  Given the nature of the tennis tour, players usually face each other multiple times throughout the season. We recommend always checking head to head stats, even if it looks a mismatch on paper. If a player has a couple of recent wins against a much higher-ranked player, you may well find some value in backing them in the match or handicap markets.
• 🎾 Quality Counts In Grand Slams:
  In the smaller events throughout the season the chances of upset results are quite high. However, at the four Grand Slams it is usually the big boys that dominate the men’s. In the men’s game Djokovic, Federer and Nadal remain at the top of the tree and no other player has won a Grand Slam event since Stan Wawrinka won the US Open in 2016 (17 events). The women’s tournaments tend to be more open and if you are looking for a big priced outright winner you’ll have a better chance in the women’s events.

How Do I Find the Tennis Betting Odds?

It goes without saying that finding the best odds is your top priority when having planning to enjoy a bit of tennis betting. What seems like a small difference in odds can translate to a big difference in winnings over time. Once you know which tennis tournaments to bet on, you need to make sure you get the best value possible.

For example, if you place a winning £100 tennis bet at odds of 11/10 instead of 1/1 (evens) you will be a tenner better off. However, if you multiplied that by 10x winning bets at 11/10 rather than at evens, you would be £100 better off. That is why you should always, without fail, shop around for the best tennis odds.

Tennis Odds Comparison

In this section we will compare odds for a previous French Open from a number of tennis betting sites in the UK. The purpose of this is to illustrate how big the variation in odds can be between certain bookies and it also demonstrates the importance of shopping around for the best price for every single tennis bet you place.

Men’s French Open Odds Comparison*

	R Nadal	N Djokovic	D Thiem
bet365	10/11	3/1	3/1
Unibet	21/20	11/5	3/1
William Hill	5/6	3/1	3/1
*This odds table is a for display purposes only and does not accurately reflect the latest odds.

As you can see from the table above, there is quite a difference in odds for some players. Rafa Nadal is the favourite at 5/6 with William Hill but if you backed him at Unibet you would get 21/20. Stefanos Tsitsipas is an even better example. If you had a £10 bet on him with William Hill at 14/1 and he won you’d get £150 back (including your stake), whereas if you placed the exact same bet with bet365 at 18/1 you’d be £40 better off.

Tennis overrounds can give a picture of the overall value, but if you are placing an outright tennis bet the only way to be 100% sure you are getting the best price is to shop around. We worked out the overrounds for the three bookies mentioned above. Bet365 were best at 102.36% with Unibet at 105.03% and William Hill 104.64%. So while bet365 had the lowest overround, they didn’t have the best price about Novak Djokovic and this illustrates perfectly why you shouldn’t rely completely on overrounds when deciding which bookie to use. 

Types of Tennis Bets

In the next few sections we will discuss the different options available to tennis punters when they are having a bet. We look at the many outright markets you can bet on, as well as some of the key match betting markets. Put it this way, if you are wondering about the different types of tennis bets you can place and how to best approach certain tennis betting markets, then the next couple of paragraphs make for essential reading.

Outright Markets

The outright winner is the tennis market that the vast majority of punters will be very familiar with. This is a pre-tournament outright market and most UK tennis betting sites offer win and each way betting (1/2 odds 1-2 places). If you are looking for an alternative outright market you can also place bets on who you think will get the Most Aces in a tournament. If you do have a bet on the ‘Most Aces’ market, make sure to check recent serving stats before making a selection.

Match Betting

There are a massive amount of different match betting markets formed for every single match throughout the season. Basic match line betting requires you to back the player you think is going to win the game. However, betting sites allow you to bet on more than just who wins.

Handicap betting is also widely available with our leading tennis betting sites and this is when you back a player plus or minus a number of sets and they need to cover the handicap for you to get a return. This a great way to add another layer of dimension to your tennis betting experience.

Set betting is another option and this market requires you to pick the player you think will win an individual set. Over/Under betting is another popular market with many tennis punters. Most commonly, the bookie nominates the most likely number of games they think will be played in a match and you bet on whether there will be more (over) or less (under). If you are struggling to pick the most likely winner of a match, Over/Under tennis markets provide an excellent alternative.

Tennis Betting Promotions

In this section we will briefly explain the most common tennis betting promotions. When you are having a bet on tennis you should always keep your eyes peeled for the latest promotions and specials. Below you can see some of the more popular promotion types you might come across at our most popular tennis betting sites…

• 🎾 Tennis Acca Insurance –
  Get money back if one leg of an acca lets you down, usually as a free bet.
• 🎾 Early Payout On Tennis –
  Get paid out early as a winner if your player takes a 2 set lead.
• 🎾 Tennis Odds Boost –
  Boost the odds of selected tennis bets.

In-Play Tennis Betting

If you sign up with any of our leading UK tennis betting sites you’ll have immediate access to in-play tennis betting. You should always check out the quality of the live betting suite before signing up with any bookmaker. Look out for odds that refresh regularly (more on finding the best tennis betting odds above) and also check how long it takes to place an in-play tennis bet. Odds can change rapidly and it is very frustrating when you miss a price due to slow software.

We were extremely impressed by William Hill's live betting suite (on desktop and mobile) and they often have some ace in-play tennis promotions too. For in-play betting on tennis, William Hill is tough to beat.

Live Streaming In The UK

You will be glad to learn that a number of UK bookies have live tennis streaming available. We are big fans of bet365, William Hill and Unibet for live tennis streaming.

To access live tennis streaming with all three bookies the requirements are the same. You will need to either have placed a bet on ANY sport in the past 24 hours or alternatively you need to have a positive account balance. Once you tick either of those boxes you’ll be able to stream tennis live via both desktop and mobile devices.   

The Best Tennis Betting Apps In The UK

So, what exactly makes a good tennis betting app? Well, it is a matter of taste but in general, you should look for apps that have smooth software with minimal page loading times. We like mobile apps that are well designed, nice to look at and easy to navigate. You should also be able to access the same markets and features like live betting and live streaming when available.

Just like we mentioned above with tennis betting live streaming, it is hard to single out one bookie that has a better app than all the rest. Bet365 and William Hill’s apps are both solid options, while the Unibet mobile apps are fit for purpose too. Punters that are on the lookout for a high-quality tennis betting app have no shortage of options and if you download any of the tennis betting apps mentioned above, you won’t be disappointed.

Best Tennis Tournaments to Bet On

Although there are hundreds of tournaments every season, there are four tournaments every punter needs to know. They are known as the Grand Slams or Majors and you can find out more information about them below (as well as on our betting guides for each of them):

🇺🇸 The US Open

This is the final tennis Grand Slam tournament of the season. As we mention our US Open guide, the tournament is held at Flushing Meadows in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Queens, New York and is organised by the United States Tennis Association.

The US Open starts on the first Monday in August and the total prize fund is a cool $57 million. The US Open is played on hard court and in the Men’s, Rafa Nadal (4) and Novak Djokovic (3) have won 7 of the last 10. The Women’s US Open has been a lot more open in recent years and produced 5 different winners in the past 5 years.

🇫🇷 The French Open

The French Open is held at Roland Garros in Paris and it is traditionally the second major of the season. Usually it begins in late May but in 2019 it was moved to late September. This is the only Grand Slam event played on a clay court so stick to backing players that flourish on that surface (for more tips on French Open betting, head to our French Open page).

In the men’s it has paid to back Rafa Nadal in recent years as he has won it 12 times since 2005! 6 different women have won the title in the past 6 years so if you are looking for an outright winner bet at big odds, you might be best served by sticking to the women’s tournament.

🇬🇧 Wimbledon

Famous for strawberries and cream, Pimm’s and Henman Hill, Wimbledon is one of the sporting highlights every year in the UK. Held in the height of summer (late June/July) at the All England Club in London and organised by the Lawn Tennis Association, this is the longest-running tennis tournament in the world. First held in 1877, it is the third major of the season and Roger Federer is the most successful player of all time.

Our experts recommend backing players with proven form on grass courts and big serves at Wimbledon as it is a tournament best suited to those who serve and volley (especially in the men’s). For more insider tips, visit our Wimbledon page.

🇦🇺 The Australian Open

This is the opening tennis major on the calendar and it is held in late January in Melbourne. Originally a grass court event, more recent tournaments have been played on hard courts. Novak Djokovic (8) and Roger Federer (6) have dominated the Australian Open, winning every renewal since 2004 apart from in 2014 (Wawrinka), 2009 (Nadal) and 2005 (Safin).

Like we mention on our guide to the Australian Open, this tournament is similar to the other majors in that the women’s event is usually more unpredictable and much more likely to produce a shock result.

Tennis Betting FAQs