How to Bet on Tennis: A UK Guide to Tennis Betting Markets

Last updated: 6 November 2026

Tennis has no draw, so most bets are on who wins, the score in sets, a games or sets handicap, or the total games played. Knowing how to bet on tennis also means knowing the rule most people only look up afterwards: what happens when a player retires.

How Do You Bet on Tennis?

You bet on tennis in four steps: pick a match, choose a market, check how that market settles if a player retires, then set your stake. In Great Britain you need to be 18 or over and bet with a Gambling Commission licensed bookmaker, and every match Midnite prices is on our tennis betting page.

Your pick goes on the bet slip, which shows a To Return figure before you confirm, the same in the Midnite app as on the website.

The Midnite Take: Tennis Betting: Games, Sets and the Occasional Five-Set Marathon

By Dave Learmont, Creative Copy Lead at Midnite

Tennis is beautifully simple until someone starts explaining tie-breaks, deciding sets and why a match has lasted four hours.

Betting markets cover more than just the match winner. You can look at set betting, total games, game handicaps and individual set winners.

The playing surface matters too. Grass, clay and hard courts can produce very different matches, while serving strength and recent form help explain why the odds look the way they do.

And with momentum swinging from one break point to the next, tennis is a useful reminder that being ahead doesn't mean the match is over.

How Tennis Scoring Works, and Why It Matters for Your Bet

Tennis scoring works in three layers: points win games, games win sets, and sets win the match. A game goes 15, 30, 40, then game, and at 40-40 (deuce) a player needs two points in a row to take it, per the LTA's guide to scoring.

A set goes to the first player to six games with a two-game lead. At 6-6 most sets go to a tie-break, first to 7 points and two clear, under the ITF Rules of Tennis, and the set goes down as 7-6.

Matches are best of three sets, except men's singles at the Grand Slams, which are best of five under the Grand Slam Rule Book.

Tennis tie-break rules changed at the Slams in 2022, when the Grand Slam Board agreed one format. At all four, a final set that reaches 6-6 is now decided by a tie-break to 10 points, still two clear. No more deciding sets that run into a third day.

For your bet, that means Total Games counts a 7-6 set as 13 games, and Midnite's rules don't add the tie-break points on top. It also gives every match a floor and a ceiling: best of three runs from 12 games (6-0 6-0) to 39 (three sets at 7-6), and best of five from 18 to 65.

Tennis Betting Markets Explained

Tennis betting markets on Midnite sit under tabs on each match page: Match, Sets, Games, Aces, Players, Spreads and Totals, plus Bet Builder. Tennis odds are fractions, so 5/2 pays £5 profit for every £2 staked, and how betting odds work covers the rest. Prices below are made up for the examples.

Match Winner: Two Outcomes, No Draw

Match Winner is a bet on which player wins the match, with only two selections because a tennis match can't finish level. Say the favourite is 1/3 and the underdog 5/2, with £10 on each:

• Favourite wins? £10 at 1/3 returns £13.33.
• Underdog wins? £10 at 5/2 returns £35.
• Your player loses? Your £10 is gone.

A retirement during the first set is the third way it ends: the bet is void and your stake comes back.

Set Betting

Set Betting is a bet on the exact score in sets. Best of three has four possible scores, 2-0 or 2-1 to either player, and a men's Grand Slam match has six: 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 either way.

Each selection pays more than the same player on Match Winner, because you need the exact score. A favourite who wins 2-1 still loses you a 2-0 bet.

Game and Set Handicaps

A handicap gives one player a head start: Match - Set Handicap works in sets and Match - Game Handicap in games. Our guide to how handicap betting works covers the idea in other sports.

Match - Set Handicap sits at 1.5 sets. In best of three:

• +1.5 sets wins if your player wins the match or loses it 1-2. It loses on 0-2.
• -1.5 sets needs a 2-0 win.

In best of five, +1.5 sets wins on a match win or a 2-3 defeat, and loses on 0-3 or 1-3.

Match - Game Handicap adds the head start to your player's games across the match, and the lines on the page we checked ran from -4.5 to +4.5. Put £10 on the underdog at +3.5 games, priced 5/6, and say they lose 7-6 6-4. That's 13 games to 10, and 10 plus 3.5 makes 13.5, which beats 13, so the bet wins and returns £18.33. The favourite at -3.5 games needed a margin of four games or more, so it loses.

Games decide it, not the result. A player who loses the first set 0-6 and wins the next two 7-6 7-6 takes the match 14 games to 18, so +1.5 games on them still loses.

Total Games Over/Under

Total Games is a bet on how many games the whole match produces, over or under a line such as 22.5. If you're working out how to bet on tennis over/under lines, start from the floor and ceiling above. The match page we checked ran lines from 20.5 to 28.5, shown as Over 23.50 and so on.

• Over 22.5 needs 23 games or more, so 7-6 6-4 goes over.
• Under 22.5 needs 22 or fewer, so 6-4 6-4, with 20, stays under.

However long a tie-break runs, the set still counts as 7-6.

First Set, Aces and Other Markets

1st Set - Winner is settled when the first set ends, so a later retirement doesn't touch it. Midnite also prices 2nd Set - Winner, 1st Set - Correct Score, Total Aces and each player's games won.

You can combine markets from one match in a tennis bet builder, and Midnite's tennis rules say every selection has to win, with no ties or pushes. Here's how to place a Bet Builder. Selections from different matches go in a tennis acca instead.

What Happens to Your Bet If a Player Retires?

On Match Winner, Midnite settles a retirement by when it happens. A retirement during the first set makes the bet void and returns your stake, and after the first set the player who goes through to the next round is the winner, under Midnite's tennis betting rules.

UTR events are the exception: a retirement there voids bets on both players, whoever goes through. Set Betting, both handicaps and Total Games are resulted at the end of the match, and void if it's abandoned without an official result.

• Walkover: if a player pulls out before the match, bets on that player in that match are void.
• Abandoned: bets stand if an official result is given, and are void if not.
• Delayed or postponed: rain or bad light leaves markets unsettled, and a match that resumes later in the tournament keeps its bets.
• Change of surface or venue: every bet on that match is void.
• Player markets: live from the first point, and anything decided before a retirement is settled as normal.

Other bookmakers use different retirement rules. Some settle once the first ball is served, some once the first set is complete and some only if the full match is played, so check the rules wherever you bet.

In-Play Tennis Betting

In-play tennis betting means betting while the match is on, and the prices move point by point, especially around a break of serve. Anyone who's seen a player serve for the match and get broken knows how fast that happens.

Live tennis betting on Midnite sits under the In-Play tab on the tennis page.

Midnite's tennis rules add one condition: the next point must be played for an in-play bet to stand.

Betting on the Grand Slams

The Grand Slams are where the format changes. Men's singles are best of five, which pushes up the games count and gives Set Betting six scores, while women's singles stay best of three.

Wimbledon betting is the easy one to follow, because every match is on UK time, rain covers permitting. Betting on French Open tennis means clay, the slowest of the four surfaces, and longer rallies.

If you're checking how to bet on US Open tennis, the clock is the main difference. Night sessions start at 7pm in New York, midnight in the UK, so US Open tennis betting is mostly a late-night job.

Things to Check Before You Bet on Tennis

Any tennis betting guide's research comes down to a few checks, and none of them predicts a result.

• Surface. Clay slows the ball, grass rewards a big serve, and plenty of players are much stronger on one.
• Workload and travel. A long week, a late finish or a long-haul flight can catch up with anyone.
• Fitness and retirement history. An injury, or a record of retiring mid-match, makes it more likely the retirement rule settles your bet.
• Indoor or outdoor. Indoor courts take the wind and sun out of a match.
• Five-set stamina. Best of five rewards players who can last.

No tennis betting system guarantees a profit, however it's sold.

Bet Responsibly

Decide your budget before a match starts and keep it to money you can afford to lose. The Australian Open runs through the UK night and US Open night sessions start at midnight, so set limits in daylight, not mid tie-break.

In your Midnite account, the Safer Gambling section holds Financial Limits, where you can set deposit limits by the day, week or month. Lowering one applies straight away, and raising one takes 24 hours.

Net Spend Limits cap what you pay in minus what you withdraw, and Loss Limits cap what you can lose. Cool Off pauses your account for 24 hours to 30 days, and Self-Exclusion covers a break of six months or more.

The Responsible Play hub explains every tool. If betting stops being something you enjoy, GamCare and BeGambleAware are free to contact and confidential. Betting is for over-18s only.

FAQs

What Is the Best Way to Bet on Tennis?

No way of betting on tennis guarantees a win or a profit. Pick a market you understand, such as Match Winner, check how it settles if a player retires, and set your budget before your first bet.

What Does +1.5 in Tennis Mean?

+1.5 is a handicap: a head start of 1.5 sets on Match - Set Handicap, or 1.5 games on Match - Game Handicap. On sets in best of three, +1.5 wins if your player wins or loses 1-2, and loses on 0-2. It's a line, not an American price, and the odds next to it are fractions.

What Does Over 22.5 Mean in Tennis?

Over 22.5 is a Total Games bet that needs 23 games or more in the match. A 7-6 6-4 result has 23 games, so it goes over, while 6-4 6-4 has 20 and stays under. Tie-break points aren't counted, only the 7-6 set score.

Can You Sports Bet on Tennis?

Yes. In Great Britain you can bet on tennis if you're 18 or over, with a bookmaker licensed by the Gambling Commission, and the Commission's public register shows who holds a licence. Midnite is licensed and regulated by the Great Britain Gambling Commission. The sport's integrity is overseen by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, set up in 2021 by tennis's governing bodies.

Game, Set, Match

Pick a market you understand, check how it settles on a retirement, and set your stake before the first serve. Every match is on Midnite's tennis page.

Midnite is licensed and regulated by the Great Britain Gambling Commission. 18+, please gamble responsibly.

Midnite is principal partner of Wolves, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United for 2026/27, training kit partner of Southampton, a World Snooker Tour partner, and the NFL's official sports betting partner in the UK and Ireland.

About the author

Jordan Willmott is Sportsbook Experience Senior Manager at Midnite, where he leads the team behind sportsbook operations and propositions, from bet settlement and price boosts to the range of markets and specials available across every sport on site. He has spent 13 years in sportsbook and trading, previously in similar roles at BetVictor, Sporting Index and Sky Betting & Gaming. He writes here on how markets are built, made available and settled once the whistle goes. Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn.