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.