Introduction to the US Open Tennis Tournament
There is no shortage of headline-making tournaments in the exciting world of professional tennis. Thanks to the sport being popular in most countries, there is always a big competition taking place somewhere. One of the best-known events is the US Open. This is held every year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City. In this article, we’ll explain how the tournament works. We'll also provide useful information on how to bet on the US Open tennis like an old pro.
To start with, we’ll discuss the US Open tennis tournament itself, and explain how the competition is formatted. We’ll then take a look at the main betting markets and suggest the best ways of approaching them. You’ll learn what to focus on when trying to make winning selections. And then we’ll round off by answering a bunch of Frequently Asked Questions relating to the US Open.
Best Sportsbook for US Open Betting
The range of sportsbooks that you will have access to will depend on the state you live in. If you only have access to one online sportsbook in your state, that operator will automatically be your best option simply because it’s the only one available. However, if you are lucky enough to live in a state in which several sportsbooks operate, you will have the privilege of choosing between them.
As far as betting on the US Open tennis tournament is concerned, the biggest names tend to provide the best choice of markets. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, William Hill and Points Bet are all very good choices, and if you sign up with more than one you can simply bet with the one offering the best odds.
About the US Open Tournament
The US Open tennis tournament has its roots in the US National Championship, which was first played in August, 1881. At that time, the competition was for men only, and only amateur players were allowed to take part. However, women got their own version in 1887. Fast forward a few decades and the US Open as we know it today took shape in 1968. That was when professional tennis players could also participate.
The US Open is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments that take place each year. The other three, which are held earlier in the year, are the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. Like the other Grand Slams, the US Open attracts the best players in the world. It takes place at the end of August and is played on a hard court. In that respect it is similar to the Australian Open and French Open, whereas Wimbledon is a grass court tournament,
This tournament features several different competitions. You'll no doubt be aware of the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles, as those are the best known and most popular for betting purposes. Other competitions that you can watch and bet on include the Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
The US Open Tournament Format
The Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles competitions normally have 128 entrants each, and the tournament is played over seven rounds. The winner of each first round match progresses to the second round. The winner of each second round match progresses to the third round, and so on. Eventually this will leave just two players to face each other in the US Open Final. Your Champion for that year will be the one who wins that Final.
Is Betting on the US Open Legal in the United States?
The legality of sports betting is something that varies from state to state. In some states, it is perfectly acceptable to engage in US Open betting via a mobile app or website. Other states only allow sports betting to take place in person at a sportsbook kiosk in a land-based casino. Unfortunately, there are also states which don’t allow sports betting under any circumstances.
You can see how legal it is to bet on the US Open in your own state by visiting our page about online sports betting in the USA. If online sports betting is legal for you then you won’t have any problem betting on the US Open or any other sporting event. If no sports betting is allowed at all in your state, the only solution is for you to physically travel to the nearest state which does allow it and place your bets there.
US Open Betting Markets
As in most major sporting tournaments, online sportsbooks are careful to offer multiple betting markets for the US Open in tennis betting. Some bettors like to focus on just one or two of these markets. For example, by betting on who they think will win the Men’s and Women’s Singles competitions. Others enjoy betting on many more markets, simply because they like to also have separate bets on individual matches or even on how those matches themselves will unfold.
It is good to have as much choice as possible. We will therefore highlight several of the markets that are of most interest to the betting population as a whole. We’ll describe their respective advantages and what you need to do in each case to land a winning bet.
2021 US Open Winner
Because the US Open comprises several competitions, there are just as many markets for the US Open Winner. Someone referring only to betting on ‘the US Open winner’ will usually be talking about the Men’s Singles competition. However, other Winner markets are available for the Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and a variety of Wheelchair competitions.
The aim in all of these markets is to bet on a player to win the competition as a whole. For example, you would have to select a male competitor to win the Men’s Singles competition. Or a female player to win the Women’s Singles competition. If your selected player wins the competition as you predicted, your bet will win.
You can normally bet on the US Open Winner at any time before or during the competition. A moneyline format is most often used, and if you bet before the tournament begins you will enjoy the biggest odds. That's because your selection has the most to do at that time.
As the competition progresses and players are eliminated, the odds available on the remaining players will shorten accordingly. If you want the best price you may therefore do well to bet earlier in the competition rather than later.
Match Betting
You can also bet on individual tennis matches as the tournament unfolds. This is good news for tennis fans who want to follow the action for the full two weeks. We're talking from the opening serve of the first round to the closing shot of the Men’s Singles Final.
To illustrate, imagine that you think that a certain player has a great chance of winning his first round match. However, you aren’t confident that he will win the Men’s Singles competition as a whole. In that scenario you can bet on his first round match only. If he wins that match, your bet would also win, regardless of what happens after.
Match betting is also a good way of potentially landing several winning bets throughout the tournament by following a player all the way from the first round to wherever they manage to end up.
For example, if you are confident that a player has a great chance of winning the Women’s Single competition, you could of course bet on that outcome in the US Open Winner market. Alternatively - or in addition - you could bet on that player to win her first round match, and then her second round match, and so on. If she makes it all the way to the Final, you would have won several bets, irrespective of whether or not she wins the competition as a whole.
Total Sets
The Total Sets betting market allows you to bet on the total number of sets that a match will run to. You should note that a tennis match in the Men’s Singles competition is usually played on a best out of five sets basis. The Women’s Singles matches are more usually determined by the best out of three sets. In this market you can therefore bet on how many sets will be played in total.
The good thing about this market is that you don’t have to actually predict which player will win. Instead, you only have to predict how many sets will be played. If you think that a player has a big advantage over his opponent, you might bet that the match will be over in three sets. If you think that both players are equally skilled you might bet that five sets will be played. As always, if your prediction is right, your bet will win.
Set Betting
As well as being able to bet on the winner of the competition as a whole, and on each individual match, you can also bet on who will win a given set of a match. You will need to be fairly active as a bettor here, as you'll want to keep a close eye on how the game develops and the odds that are being made available. However, if you intend to watch the match anyway, set betting can be a fun and potentially profitable way of enhancing the experience.
Set betting is just as easy as match betting as far as technicalities are concerned. You decide which player you think will win the next set to be played and your bet will succeed if your prediction proves correct. Multiple sets are played in each match, so betting on the outcome of each set would give you the chance to land multiple winning bets.
Prop Betting Markets
Prop bets are ones focused on something that can take place in a sporting event without necessarily relating to the outcome of the event itself. In the world of tennis betting there are numerous such things that you can bet on. A few examples are:
- The number of Aces that will be scored in a given game, set or match.
- How many double-faults will be made in a game, set or match.
- Whether or not a player will receive medical attention in a match.
- Whether or not the umpire will be hit by a wayward ball.
As you can see from that last example, some prop bets are more tongue-in-cheek than others. The aim of these markets is really to add a little seasoning to the tennis betting experience. Most players therefore focus on the main markets and engage with the prop betting markets only to spice things up a little.
US Open Form Aspects to Note
The level of difficulty in picking US Open winners varies according to the kind of betting market that you focus on. If you want to pick the winner of the tournament as a whole from a group of 128 competitors then the challenge is fairly stiff. Selecting one of just two players to win an individual match, on the other hand, is considerably easier.
Although match betting is easier than predicting the winner of the entire competition, no form of tennis betting is completely straightforward. For that reason, it is always sensible to make your picks on the basis of past form rather than relying on hunches and gut instinct.
The odds that sportsbooks offer are already largely based on their expert view about events, and they’re not a bad guide, overall. Even so, here are some of the form aspects you should also consider for yourself before deciding which players to include on your betting slips.
Current Ranking
Tennis is a game of technical skill, strategy and psychology. For that reason, the player who fares best in each of these areas is the one who is most likely to win on any given day. The player who can excel most consistently in these areas from match to match is the one most likely to win a competition outright.
The current tennis rankings will tell you a great deal about a player’s ability to excel in the areas just mentioned. A player can only get to the top of the rankings by outperforming everyone else, so the players in the top ten would all be quite good bets against opponents ranked well below them.
This is good to know, as it should give you more confidence when betting on players who are currently doing very well in the rankings. It can be particularly useful when betting on first round matches. That's where well-ranked players can be bet on to easily beat opponents who aren’t ranked very well at all.
Fitness Level
You can only expect a player to perform to the best of their ability if they are fit and well. Pay close attention to the sports pages of newspapers and websites. This will help you to keep up to date with news and interviews that reference any serious developments.
For example, a player with a niggling shoulder injury might have had major surgery over the off-season. In that case, you may want to keep any stakes on him at a modest level. At least until you have seen if and how it affects his performance. Of course, if you intend to oppose a player who is experiencing fitness problems, such news might encourage you.
Past Tournament Form
Every tournament tests different players in different ways. You should check to see how any player you are considering has performed at the same tournament in previous years. If the player you are considering has performed well in the US Open in previous years, that’s good for your betting prospects. However, if he or she has never made it past the first round, you might want to seriously reconsider betting on them in the US Open Winner market.,
Past Match Form
When you’re looking to bet on an individual match between two specific players, also look at how those two players have fared against each other previously. If one of the players consistently beats the other then you’d have to be very brave to bet that the next match will deviate from the pattern.
Where Can I Safely and Legally Bet on the US Open?
You can find out where you can safely and legally bet on the US Open by visiting our online sportsbooks page. This will show you a list of the states where online sports betting is legal. Simply click on your state (or a state that you intend to visit) and you will be taken to a separate page which details the available betting options. All of the online sportsbooks reviewed here at HowToBet are completely safe and secure, and legal in the states in which they operate.