How to Bet on US Open Tennis – US Open Betting Tips

The US Open is the fourth and final tennis Grand Slam event of the year, held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows in New York City.

Starting on the last Monday of August and running for two weeks, the middle weekend coincides with the Labor Day holiday in the US.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain how to bet on the US Open, types of bets, tips and strategies, live betting, the different events, the best US Open bettings site, and more.

How to Bet on the US Open

Choosing the right sportsbook to use when placing a bet on the US Open is crucial, but with so many to pick from it can be a little overwhelming. Therefore we advise using our list of recommended US Open sports betting sites at the bottom of this page as a guide to finding the right one for you.

After picking your sportsbook and creating your account, you’ll now find yourself in the lobby of the sportsbook ready to select a bet. You’ll need to navigate to the US Open betting page via the tennis section. As a first bet, it makes sense to keep it simple by picking your tournament winner.

As you gain confidence during the competition you can implement the betting tips and strategies found on this page to place more complex and detailed wagers, with the goal in mind being to identify high-value bets that you think the sportsbook has priced too high.

Bettors will know the draw for the US Open weeks before the event starts, which can help with your planning. Make sure you keep on top of news surrounding the competition such as injuries, as well as the form of the players.

Remember to make the most of any betting promotions you can get your hands on, with all reputable bookmakers offering a welcome bonus of some description and the likes of free bets, odds boosts, and other deals.

Real-World Example of a US Open Tennis Bet

As part of our guide to US Open tennis betting we want to show you an example bet. At the time of writing we are a few weeks out from the event so for this one we will look at the tournament winner with BetMGM (although it’s always worth checking around to see if there are better odds for the bet you want to make).

Here we’ve opted for 2022 winner Carlos Alcaraz to do it again and win the tournament outright at +120. As you can see from the bet slip, our $50 stake would return $110 (including the original stake) if it were to win.

This market won’t be settled until a winner of the 2023 US Open is crowned, or our selection Alcaraz is knocked out. You’ll get your money back if you were to bet on a player that never took part in the competition, perhaps due to injury or illness.

Step-by-Step US Open Tennis Betting Guide

Here we will walk you through the process of how to bet on the US Open tennis, all the way from creating an account to placing a wager. We have chosen BetMGM as our example sportsbook but the process will be very similar regardless of the site you use.

1. Open an Account

Unless you already have an account with the sportsbook, you’ll need to create one. Hit the gold ‘Register’ button in the top right-hand corner of the site, which will prompt a welcome page where you’ll need to enter your email.

Next choose your password, enter your name exactly as it appears on your forms of identification, the last four digits of your social security number (SSN), your date of birth, mobile phone number, current address, any bonus code, and confirm you’ve read the terms of service.

You’ll usually have to provide some forms of identification to verify your account, which can take 24-48 hours to complete.

2. Make a Deposit and Claim Any Welcome Bonus

Once the account has been set up and verified, hit the ‘Deposit’ button to bring up the cashier within the account section. Depending on which state you are in you may see a range of payment methods to choose from, but most will include VISA, MasterCard, bank transfer, and a collection of e-wallets.

Be sure to make the most of any welcome bonus you are entitled to, with BetMGM offering a first bet offer worth up to $1,000 paid back in bonus bets if you don’t win, available to players in certain states.

3. Navigate to US Open Betting Markets

From the sports section of the sportsbook, you can navigate to the tennis offering via the tabs at the top of the page or through the panel on the left-hand side.

Here if you opt for Grand Slam Tournaments and the US Open, you’ll load up all the available betting markets for the competition at Flushing Meadows.

4. Add to Bet Slip

Once you’ve decided the betting market you want, you can choose the bet you want to make by clicking the odds box. To remove, either click the odds again or click the X in the bet slip.

5. Place your Bet

Once the bet is in your bet slip, it’s time to select the stake. Pick from the options below or use the calculator, checking the bet is correct and the potential payout is what you want. 

If it is all right then place your bet. You can keep a track of open bets within your account.

Types of US Open tennis bets

The best US Open betting sites will offer a host of different markets to choose from, similar to tennis betting. 

In this section we’ve outlined some of the most popular bets types and explained them in more detail.

Tournament Winner (Outright)

The tournament winner refers to predicting the player that will win the competition outright. Often the most popular market for the US Open, bettors have the chance to guess who will triumph weeks or even months before the event.

Odds for the outright winner will fluctuate and generally refer to seedings/world rankings, recent form, history in competition, and the competitiveness of the tournament.

Match Winner

Selecting the match winner is as simple as it sounds, simply picking the player you think will win the match in question. Probably the most common bet in tennis and one of the most straightforward.

The odds reflect the likelihood of each player winning the match. In the early rounds of the US Open the bigger players are likely to be given low odds of beating lesser players, so you’ll have to dig deep to unearth value.

Set Bets

There are many different kinds of set bets for you to get involved in. You can pick the correct score in a certain set, for example 6-0 to Player 1. This is an interesting way of finding value if you are betting on a dominant player.

You might back Player 2 to win at least one set, you can predict the score in a set after a number of games or you can predict set betting in total.

Handicaps

Handicap betting sees you give one player a virtual advantage or disadvantage over another player in terms of games or sets before the match has begun. The idea here is to level the playing field and offer more balanced odds.

For example, a -0.5 set handicap would mean the favored player must win by at least one set for the bet to win, while a +0.5 set handicap means the unfancied player can either win the match or lose by just one set for the bet to come in.

Handicap markets allow bettors to find value by adjusting the perceived talent gap between players and offers alternative betting options, particularly on matches viewed as one-sided.

Totals

Totals offer bettors the chance to bet on the number of games or sets to be played in a match, rather than players. This usually comes in the form of over or under a certain number.

For example, if the over/under line for the match is set at 24.5, you can decide to bet on whether the total number of games played will be over or under that threshold. If you opt for over, the match ends with 24 games or less in total, your bet will lose. But if it ends with 25 games or more, you’ll win.

This type of betting allows you to focus on the intensity and duration of a match rather than the outcome in terms of a winner.

In-Play Betting

Also referred to as live betting, here bettors can place wagers on a match while it is in progress offering increased flexibility to react to what happens and implement real-time strategies.

For example, you may watch Novak Djokovic go a set down in an early round of the US Open and back him to come good and win the match from behind. You could also make in-play bets on the next game winner, total number of games in a set, or even the outcome of just one point or game.

Lots of players love in-play betting as it allows them to sample a live experience which adds to the excitement. It also provides the chance to analyze the ebbs and flows of a match, player performance, and other factors to make informed betting decisions in real time.

Parlays

Also known as combo bets or an accumulator, parlays combine individual wagers into one single bet. To win a parlay bet, all the individual selections within the bet must be correct. 

For example, you may combine three match winners during the US Open quarter-finals into a parlay. If all three players were to win their respective matches, your parlay bet would be successful.

Parlays allow for higher potential payouts, as the odds of each bet are multiplied together. However, if any of the selections don’t come in, the entire bet loses.

US Open Tips and Strategies

As part of this comprehensive tennis betting guide we have included some US Open betting tips and strategies to help you become a more successful bettor and stand more of a chance of landing winners.

Study Form and Fitness

You should always take into account the form of players going into the US Open. In the weeks building up to the event, clues can be found by surveying performances in the Washington Open, Canadian Open, and Cincinnati Masters, with those that do well in those tournaments going to Flushing Meadows full of confidence.

Similarly, identifying players who are out of form could allow you to correctly pick someone who might crash out early. Do remember that the US Open will be best of five sets rather than three in these build-up competitions.

Note the Playing Surface

The US Open is played on hard outdoor courts, so naturally players who perform better on this type of playing surface will stand a better chance of success. Every player has a preference for surface in tennis – Rafael Nadal is a master on clay and Roger Federer loves grass – so try to find those who excel on fast courts and don’t back players who have only shown good form on other surfaces.

Because the Australian Open is also played on hard outdoor courts you can definitely use it as a gauge for the US Open. 

Analyze Head to Head Winners

Head-to-head performances are particularly important when you’re trying to figure out the winner of a certain match-up. One player may be ranked much higher than another, but if they often lose when facing a certain opponent betting on them could be risky. 

Look at Recent Performances

How players have fared at the US Open is a fairly good indicator of how they might get on at the tournament in the future. Examine past performances for those who you are thinking of backing to see if any patterns can be identified.

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic has won the US Open three times in 2011, 2015 and 2018, while Daniil Medvedev reached the final in 2019 before winning it in 2021. Dominic Thiem won his only Grand Slam in New York in 2020, while Rafael Nadal is a four-time winner (2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019).

While on the women’s side Serena Williams won six US Open titles between 1999 and 2014, and Emma Raducanu won her first major at Flushing Meadows in 2022. 

Check the Rankings

The ATP and WTA rankings are very useful when it comes to making predictions about the US Open. As the year comes to an end players will be battling for ranking points to make the tour finals, so you may be able to spot some surprise packages eager to make up for lost time.

Take Advantage of In-Play Betting

By monitoring live matches you can identify momentum shifts and take advantage of any potential injuries or player performance before bookmakers have had a chance to reflect that in the odds. Savvy bettors can use the evolving dynamics of a match to find valuable opportunities.

Know the Statistics

There is so much statistical content available for free on the internet. Bettors who do their homework and research things like player serve percentages, unforced error counts, and key point conversion rates are at a major advantage.

Who is favored to win the 2023 US Open – Men’s Singles?

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud to win his first major title in 2022, becoming the youngest Grand Slam winner since Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open, youngest US Open winner since Pete Sampras in 1990, the first man born in the 2000s to win a major singles title and the youngest man to be ranked world No 1 in tennis history, taking the record held by Leyton Hewitt.

The 20-year-old has since backed up those outstanding achievements by beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2023. The Spaniard will go into this year’s US Open heavily backed, but with Djokovic also in close contention. Despite turning 36, the Serbian was victorious at both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year and will be aggrieved at missing Flushing Meadows in 2022 due to covid complications.

Russian hardcourt specialist Daniil Medvedev is another in contention, holding an impressive record at the US Open having beaten Djokovic in the 2021 final, narrowly losing out to Nadal in the 2019 final, and also making the semis in 2020.

Jannik Sinner is another serious threat, even if his best performance in New York was reaching the quarter-finals last year.

Greek ace Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn’t made it past the third round at the US Open, but he has shown his ability on the hardcourts of Australia.

Ruud of Norway went all the way to the 2022 US Open final but lost in four sets to Alcaraz, having been beaten in the French Open finals of 2022 by Nadal and 2023 by Djokovic.

Who is favored to win the 2023 US Open – Women’s Singles?

Iga Swiatek became the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win multiple majors in a season when she followed up her French Open success by defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets to win the 2022 US Open. Now with four Grand Slams to her name, the Pole is looking to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to retain her title at Flushing Meadows.

Aryna Sabalenka could provide the stiffest challenge, having just enjoyed success on the hardcourts of the Australian Open. The 25-year-old has reached the semi-finals in New York twice and could go one step further this time around.

Elena Rybakina hasn’t progressed past the third round at the US Open, but will be confident after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and reaching the final of the Australian Open this year.

Jabeur is another contender with three final appearances in the last five Grand Slams, while Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are also in the frame.

US Open Tournament History

The US Open was first held in August 1881 on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island – now home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In the early years, only men competed and the tournament was known as the US National Singles Championships for Men. In 1887, the first US Women’s National Singles Championships were held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

The US Open was played in various different locations on the east coast of the USA all the way up until 1978, when it moved to the newly-constructed USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens – with a switch of surface to outdoor hardcourt.

Former champions of the men’s competition include Richard Sears, Maurice McLoughlin, Bill Tilden, Rene Lacoste, William Larned, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

Tilden, Larned, and Sears all won seven titles in the amateur era, while Sampras, Connors, and Federer all have five titles from the open era.

Former champions of the women’s competition include Elisabeth Moore, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, Helen Wills Moody, Maureen Connolly Brinker, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Steffi Graff, and Serena Williams.

Mallory holds the most titles with eight secured in the amateur era, with Moody one behind on seven, while Evert and Williams both won six in the open era.

Types of US Open Events

The US Open has five main events: the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

There is also the wheelchair men’s singles, wheelchair women’s singles, wheelchair quad singles, wheelchair men’s doubles, wheelchair women’s doubles, wheelchair quad doubles, boys’ singles, girls’ singles, boys’ doubles, and girls’ doubles.

Men’s Singles

The men’s singles competition starts in earnest after the qualifying rounds with 128 players in the draw and 32 seeded players based on ATP ranking points. There are four rounds before the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the showpiece final – seven in total. Matches are best-of-five sets from the first round with the winner pocketing $2,600,000 in prize money.

Last 10 Men’s Singles Finals

Women’s Singles

The women’s singles competition starts in earnest after the qualifying rounds with 128 players in the draw and 32 seeded players based on WTA rankings. There are four rounds before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and showpiece final – seven in total. Matches are best-of-three sets from the first round with the winner banking $2,600,000 in prize money.

Last 10 Women’s Singles Finals

Men’s Doubles

The men’s doubles competition starts in earnest after the qualifying rounds with 64 pairings in the draw and 16 seeded pairs. There are three rounds before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final – six in total. Matches are best-of-three sets from the first round with the winners sharing $688,000 in prize money.

Last 10 Men’s Doubles Finals

Women’s Doubles

The women’s doubles competition starts in earnest after the qualifying rounds with 64 pairings in the draw and 16 seeded pairs. There are three rounds before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final – six in total. Matches are best-of-three sets from the first round with the winners sharing $688,000 in prize money.

Last 10 Women’s Doubles Finals

Mixed Doubles

The mixed doubles competition starts in earnest after the qualifying rounds with 32 pairings in the draw and eight seeded pairs. There are two rounds before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final – five in total. Matches are best-of-three sets from the first round with the winners sharing $163,000 in prize money.

Last 10 Mixed Doubles Finals

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