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Wimbledon is the biggest tennis event of the year, the sport’s version of the Super Bowl or The Masters. Played at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in London since 1877, Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. The third of four Grand Slam tennis majors, it’s the only major played on grass courts.
The event typically begins in late June or early July and runs for two weeks. The 2024 edition began on July 1 and ends on July 14.
With the NBA, NHL and NFL in the offseason, Wimbledon is one of the biggest sports betting events of the summer. Most online sportsbooks prominently feature Wimbledon odds, lines and betting markets, so there will be no shortage of betting options.
Bettors may be less familiar with tennis bet types and strategies than other sports. Fortunately, we’ve put together a guide for how to bet on Wimbledon.
Wimbledon Bet Types
Wimbledon includes several events that bettors can wager on, including singles and doubles for men and women and mixed doubles.
Singles markets tend to be more popular for bettors, as they can be easier to predict and have fewer variables than doubles markets.
Most Wimbledon bets can be divided into two overarching categories. There are futures bets, which are wagers on future outcomes in the tournament (like who will win), and there are wagers on individual matchups such as moneyline, spread, Over/Under, prop bets and parlays.
We’ll go into more detail below on what these bet types mean and how they work.
Futures
Before Wimbledon begins (and throughout the event), bettors can place futures wagers on which player will win their respective tournament.
This is usually the best time to wager on players to win the tournament, as most of them start with plus odds. However, these odds will shorten as the tournament progresses and other players are eliminated, reducing your potential payout.
Futures wagers won’t pay out until the tournament ends, so bettors may need to wait several weeks to find out whether they won or not. Accordingly, we don’t recommend tying up a large chunk of your betting funds in futures, especially since they are difficult to predict.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the most straightforward bet. It’s a simple wager on which player will win the match. The favorite will have minus odds (e.g., -150), while the underdog will have plus odds (e.g., +150).
The nice thing about the moneyline is that it doesn’t matter what the margin of victory is or how long it takes a player to defeat his opponent.
As long as the player you picked wins, so will your bet, making the moneyline a good option for newer bettors or fans who aren’t very familiar with tennis.
Spread
The spread in tennis refers to the margin of victory in total games. A player must win six games to win a set and three sets to win the match.
For example, say Carlos Alcaraz is a -3.5 favorite against Daniel Medvedev, meaning Alcaraz must win by at least four games to cover. Say Alcaraz wins all three sets, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2. In this scenario, he won 18 games to Medvedev’s nine. That’s more than four games, so Alcaraz covers.
Some sportsbooks will also offer spreads on sets, typically 1.5 or 2.5. If a player is a -1.5 favorite on the set spread, he’d need to win 3-0 or 3-1 to cover.
It’s also possible to bet on the games spread within individual sets. If a player is a +2.5 underdog for the second set but only loses 6-4, he would still cover.
In both cases, odds are usually closer to even (around -110) for both sides of the spread, although they still might be juiced more towards the favorite. Spreads are a good way to get more value on a heavy favorite or protection on an underdog.
Over/Under
The Over/Under, also known as the total, refers to the number of games played in the match. Both sides of this line will usually have similar odds.
In this case, the bettor is wagering on how long the match will last. If they think the two players are evenly matched and will go back and forth for a while, they should take the Over. If they think one player will dominate in a short match, they should bet the Under.
Similarly, it’s also possible to bet on the Over/Under for the number of sets played in a match (3.5 or 4.5) or the total number of games in a specific set.
Over/Unders and spread bets are more nuanced than moneyline wagers but still straightforward, making them good options for intermediate bettors and seasoned tennis fans.
Prop Bets
Numerous prop bets are associated with Wimbledon. These can be divided into two categories: game props and player props.
Game props are player-agnostic, e.g., how many games will be in a set, how many sets will be in a match and whether a game will go to deuce.
Player props are wagers on specific outcomes involving individual players and are much more plentiful. For example, you can wager on a player to win a specific point or set. You can also bet on player props such as the correct score for a set and which player will win a certain number of games first.
Prop bets are more complex than the traditional markets (moneyline, spread, Over/Under) listed above, making them better options for serious bettors and hardcore tennis fans.
Parlays
Parlays involve combining multiple bets into a single bet. Every component of the bet, called a leg, must come true for the bet to win. These bets are riskier than straight bets like moneylines and spreads, but they come with increased odds and higher potential payouts if they win.
Wimbledon bettors can easily build parlays using the markets above, such as combining moneyline wagers from three matches into one bet.
They can also build same-game parlays using multiple markets and prop bets within a specific matchup.
Since parlays are all-or-nothing bets, they’re harder to hit consistently than straight wagers and are difficult to profit from. Accordingly, bettors should primarily stick to standard markets, which have a better chance of winning.
Live Betting on Wimbledon
While the betting examples outlined above were pre-game wagers, it’s also possible to place most of those bet types once a match has started.
Betting on a game already in progress is called live betting, and it’s become increasingly popular thanks to the rise of online betting. Now that bettors can wager almost anytime, anywhere through sportsbook apps on their mobile devices, it’s easier than ever to bet after a game has started.
Live betting is especially popular in tennis thanks to its structure, which allows bettors to wager on the current point, set and game.
Odds fluctuate constantly throughout a match depending on the flow, giving bettors potentially profitable odds if they strike at the right time. For example, a pre-match favorite might have plus odds during a match if he falls behind early.
Live betting also allows bettors to see how a match unfolds before placing a wager, which can be helpful if they don’t have a strong lean going into a match. If one player looks better than his opponent early on, you can bet on him to keep it up and win the match.
Bettors can also use live betting to hedge a pre-game bet that isn’t going well. If you bet on a player who immediately gets off to a bad start, you can pivot and bet on his opponent to try to offset your losses.
Anything can happen in a match, so live bets can still backfire. It’s also possible that the odds won’t be as favorable during a match if one player jumps out to a big early lead. Live betting can be a valuable and potentially profitable strategy for Wimbledon bettors if they time their bets well and pounce before the odds shift.
Wimbledon Betting Tips
Here are a few betting tips for bettors to consider when deciding which players to target or fade at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is unique because it’s the only tennis major still played on grass courts. Accordingly, bettors should look at players’ records on grass courts rather than clay or hard courts.
It’s important to consider a player’s past results at Wimbledon, as their history can be a good predictor of how they’ll perform.
It’s also worth considering players’ form at Eastbourne, which includes grass courts and serves as a tune-up for Wimbledon. These results can be a good indicator of how a player will perform at Wimbledon.
Bettors should also look at serving statistics. Points at Wimbledon tend to be shorter than at other majors due to the playing conditions and summer temperatures, making serves more critical. Players with strong serves are more likely to have an advantage at Wimbledon.
Lastly, bettors should factor in players’ return records, specifically their break-point percentage. Players who return well could have a key edge in their matchup.
Past Men’s Singles Wimbledon Champions
- 2023: Carlos Alcaraz
- 2022: Novak Djokovic
- 2021: Novak Djokovic
- 2019: Novak Djokovic
- 2018: Novak Djokovic
- 2017: Roger Federer
- 2016: Andy Murray
- 2015: Novak Djokovic
- 2014: Novak Djokovic
- 2013: Andy Murray
- 2012: Roger Federer
- 2011: Novak Djokovic
- 2010: Rafael Nadal
Past Women’s Singles Wimbledon Champions
- 2023: Marketa Vondrousova
- 2022: Elena Rybakina
- 2021: Ashleigh Barty
- 2019: Simona Halep
- 2018: Angelique Kerber
- 2017: Garbine Muguruza
- 2016: Serena Williams
- 2015: Serena Williams
- 2014: Petra Kvitova
- 2013: Marion Bartoli
- 2012: Serena Williams
- 2011: Petra Kvitova
- 2010: Serena Williams
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images