How to Bet on Tennis in South Africa | Markets, Betting Rules and Promotions

After soccer, tennis is the most bet on sport on the planet. With an incredibly long season and tournaments scheduled for almost every week of the year, betting on tennis in South Africa is a punter's delight! With tennis matches starting at all hours of the night and day, there's always an exciting game to enjoy no matter where you watching from in the world.

And if you're a fan of Live Betting, tennis is the perfect sport for betting In-Play with plenty of exciting markets and opportunities to make your best predictions once the action is already underway!

In this guide on how to bet on tennis in South Africa, we give you the basics of how tennis betting works, explain your betting options as well as how to find value and make a profit from tennis betting.

Best tennis betting sites in South Africa

There are some excellent online bookmakers available for betting on tennis in South Africa. These sites not only offer odds on the popular ATP (Men's) and WTA (Women's) circuits but also the semi-professional ITF and Challenger Tours.

When choosing a tennis betting site in South Africa, you should weigh up the odds, markets, promotions and Live Betting options we mentioned above. If that sounds like a lot to digest, then don't worry. We are going to make it easier for you by providing all the facts you need to make a wise and informed choice.

How to bet on tennis in South Africa

Before we go into any specifics on how to bet on tennis in South Africa, it's important to understand some differentiating factors in the game of tennis. Variables like court surface and playing style have a big influence on the result of a tennis match and that's before we even consider other factors like weather and court speed. Bearing in mind that no one court or player is the same can help us decide who to bet on in which situation because these factors change from one match and tournament to the next.

Court surface

Court surface refers to the type of ground players compete on—hard, clay, grass or carpet. Court surface affects both the speed at which the ball and players can move across the ground. Contrary to what you might think, grass courts are actually the fastest (not hard) in tennis.

Players who like the ball coming onto the racquet quickest, often prefer grass over any other surface. Those who favour a slower game and taking more time to play their shots often prefer clay courts but this surface isn't for everyone as it's very slippery. Some players can use the clay surface to their advantage by timing their movement across the court and skilfully sliding into their shots to get to the ball faster.

Types of tennis players

But it's not just the court surface that determines the strength and ability of a tennis player. Being left or right-handed is the first important differentiator as it determines how you position your body and where you return the ball back to your opponent on the other side of the court.

Different tennis players also have variable skill sets which dictate their preferred shot selection. Just a few examples of different types of tennis players include big servers, baseline players, serve-and-volley players, defensive players and players who like to play at the net.

So how does knowing the strengths of different tennis players help with your betting? Well, it often depends on who their opponent is. For example, a certain player might perform better against left or right-handed opponents. Tennis bettors can also take advantage of a strong returner playing an opponent with a weak serve, or vice versa.

Head to head statistics

When choosing which tennis player to bet on, a good way to find out how certain players match up against others is to look at the head-to-head stats. Just make sure that you don't look too far back in their respective careers because these statistics might not be as relevant today as they once were.

One of the most important statistics you can compare between two tennis players is their combined hold/break percentage on a particular court surface. This statistic measures a player's combined serving and returning ability which can provide a clear picture of their overall ability. You can find this helpful information in the Statistics and/or Results section of most online bookmakers in South Africa.

In conclusion, varying court surfaces playing styles and individual matchups impact results in tennis and as much information as you can find should be used to inform your bets wherever possible.

Tennis betting markets

If this is your first time betting on tennis, the good news is that tennis betting is not as overwhelming as may look at first. As long as you know the rules of tennis and are familiar with the scoring, you're in for an easy ride!

In comparison to soccer, there are much fewer betting markets you need to understand before you can start betting on tennis online in South Africa.

Winner / Match Odds

Match Winner is the most simple bet you can make on tennis which involves predicting the winner of the match. Because tiebreaks ensure there are no draws in tennis, your betting options are limited to either Player A or Player B.

Matches comprise either best of 3 sets or the best of 5 sets. Men's grand slam tournaments are the best of 5 sets whereas ladies always play the best of 3 sets.

Game Handicap

A game handicap in tennis is similar to how handicaps work in soccer betting. One player is theoretically given a certain number of games over their opponent to level the playing field. The bookmaker sets the number of games and you must decide whether Player A or Player B will overcome their handicap.

For example, if you bet on Player A (minus 3.5 games), then for your bet to win, Player A must win at least 4 games in total more than Player B by the end of the match.

Set Handicap

A set handicap in tennis betting is when one player is given a certain number of sets over their opponent to level the playing field.

Either bet on Player A to overcome their minus (-) set handicap disadvantage or Player B to win more sets than their opponent once the plus (+) handicap has been applied to their score. If you bet on Player B (+ 1.5 sets), then for your bet to win, Player B must either win outright or lose by no more than one set at the end of the match.

Correct Score

Correct Score in tennis is a good way to get bigger odds on a heavy favourite or side with an underdog if you think they can keep the match close. How this works is similar to soccer correct score betting except there is only a limited number of possible scores.

A three-set match can only end in four possible ways (2-0, 2-1, 0-2 or 1-2) whereas a five-set match can end in six different scorelines (3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 0-3, 1-3, 2-3). For example, if you bet on Player A to win 3-0, then for your bet to win, Player A must win the match without losing a single set.

Total Games (Over/Under)

With Total Games betting in tennis, the bookmaker will set a number for how many games they think will be played and punters must choose whether the number of games will be Over or Under that amount.

If you can't decide on the Match Winner, betting on Total Games is a good way to minimise your risk by rather predicting how long the match will go, regardless of who wins. For example, if you bet on Over 22.5 Total Games, then for your bet to win, at least 23 games must be played by the end of the match.

Bookie	Offer	Summary	Key Features
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Total Sets

For this market, you must choose whether the number of Total Sets in the match will be Over or Under the specified amount. For example, if you bet on Under 3.5 Total Sets, then for your bet to win, 3 or fewer sets must be played by the end of the match.

Set 1 Winner

Regardless of what happens in the rest of the match, this tennis bet is settled based on which player wins the first set. Simple as that!

Outright Tennis Betting

Another popular tennis betting option in South Africa is the outright market, where you must predict the overall winner of a tournament such as the US Open or Wimbledon. You will find odds for individual players to lift the trophy, which will require them to win either 4 consecutive matches in regular tournaments or 7 consecutive matches in a grand slam.

Live Tennis Betting

For a number of reasons related to the speed of the game and scoring, tennis is one of the most exciting sports for Live Betting. The number of Live Tennis Betting options available at the best online bookmakers in South Africa also makes this sport one of the most popular for betting In-Play.

With Live Tennis Betting, not only is it possible to bet on who wins the next game in the match but you can even choose to predict who wins the next point based on what you see happening in the game! Handicap tennis bets on Games and Totals are very popular for Live Tennis Betting in South Africa as well as such as Correct Score betting with the odds being quickly adjusted with every point in the match.

Bookie	Offer	Summary	Key Features
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Tennis retirements and withdrawals

Something that is quite common in tennis is player retirements or withdrawals which can affect your tennis bets. There are different rules that apply when a player retires or withdraws from a tournament depending on where you place your bet.

For example, if you place a bet on a player to win the 1st set of a tennis match and they retire in the 2nd set, some bookmakers will settle your bet as a winner. Other bookies will void/cancel your bet and refund your stake because the match was not completed. Before betting on tennis in South Africa, we suggest reading the Betting Rules under the Tennis section to see how they settle bets in different circumstances.

Tennis Promotions

When betting on tennis in South Africa, it's important not only to look for the best odds and markets you can find but also promotions that can take your betting to the next level! Thankfully, there are a number of tennis promotions as well as tournament-specific offers available for you to claim regularly.

Cash out and multibet boosts are offered on any sports by sites such as Betway, Hollywoodbets, Gbets, BET.co.za and many more. However, the betting promotions listed below are specific to tennis:

SPORTINGBET

Tennis Multi Special: Place a 5-leg Match Winner multibet on tennis and get your money back as a free bet up to R500 if only one selection lets you down. Your stake must be R25 or more and each selection must be odds of 1.25 or greater to qualify. Find out more.

BET.CO.ZA

Tennis Live In-Play Promo: Take 7 live in-play tennis bets and get your average stake back as a free bet up to R500 to use other tennis. Find out more.

PALACEBET

Grand Slam Promo: Take a pre-match multibet of at least R25 on 3 or more selections and get a free bet equal to half your stake back, to use on any live in-play Tennis match.

Where to bet on tennis in South Africa

Based on their Pre-Match odds, promotions and Live betting options, these are our recommended sites for betting on tennis in South Africa:

➡️ Betway South Africa (R1000 First Deposit Bonus)

➡️ Sportingbet (R1000 First Deposit Bonus + 20 Free Spins)

➡️ BET.co.za (R2000 First Deposit Bonus)

➡️ PalaceBet (3x Deposit Bonuses worth up to R6000)

For more about online sports betting, casino games and lotteries in South Africa, visit the Betting Guide homepage to find bookmaker reviews, promotions, betting tips and more.