French Open Betting
The French Open gives sports betting fans a chance to showcase their knowledge and insight regarding clay court specialists, and how it impacts the tennis odds. Not every tennis star can succeed on such a physically-demanding surface, but in the last two decades, one certainly has: Rafael Nadal, the king of clay. Nadal has collected a record 14 French Open titles, and counting. Although his reign is ongoing, he has commented on potentially retiring after the 2024 season.
Overall, there’s less predictability on the women’s side, leading to greater opportunities for sharp bets. However, in the last four years, we’ve seen Polish player Iga Swiatek win three times. Before Swiatek, the last time that we saw back-to-back women’s singles champions was Justine Henin’s reign between 2005 and 2007.
Fortunately, there are lots of ways to bet on the French Open odds beyond simply picking a potential winner. We’ll explain how to get in on the most popular tennis betting options after going over the history of this major tournament.
Brief History of the French Open
Originally called the Championnat de France, the French Open dates back to 1891, when it started as a men’s French tennis club tournament. A British man named H. Briggs, who was living in Paris at the time, won the inaugural event. A women’s singles event was added to the docket in 1897, and Adine Masson was the first female tennis player to win.
In 1925, the French Championships went from a local amateur tournament to an international one. This was the first year it allowed amateurs from around the world to compete. With that change, the International Lawn Tennis Federation classified it as a major championship.
In 1928, the event transferred to a newly-constructed venue named after the French fighter pilot, Roland Garros. The venue was built to host the Davis Cup during “les Quatres Mousquetaires” (the Four Musketeers) era that saw the ultra-talented group of French tennis players win six straight Davis Cups.
A major change swept through the tennis world in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments opened up to professional tennis players. Previously, only amateurs competed in the Grand Slam events, which had no prize money. The shift to the Open era of tennis united the sport to showcase the best players in the world, regardless of their professional status. As a result, the French Championship was renamed the French Open, and in 1968, the first official French Open took place. Ken Rosewall won the men’s tournament, and Nancy Richey won the women’s.
How to Bet on the French Open
French Open betting usually starts in the futures market where you can pick the potential tournament winner from a list of competitors. Each player has odds that dictate the payout should the pick come through. The odds are displayed as American odds by default in our sportsbook, but you can convert them to decimal and fractional odds if you prefer.
American odds can be positive or negative, but on a Grand Slam futures board, like the French Open, they will almost always be positive. Positive odds tell you how much money you would win on a $100 bet. For example, if a player has +250 odds, you’d win $250 on a $100 bet, or $25 on a $10 bet.
Outside of the futures market, there are tennis lines with head-to-head matchups. You can bet on the moneyline, which involves picking the winner of a match straight up. One of the players will be the favourite with negative odds, while the other player will be the underdog with positive odds. The negative odds show how much you’d need to bet to win $100. For example, if Player A is -260 on the moneyline, a $260 bet would yield a $100 payout.
French Open betting has game spreads too. The favourite needs to beat the underdog by a minimum number of games in order to cover the spread and pay supporters. At the 2022 French Open, Rafael Nadal faced Casper Ruud as a 6.5-game favourite on the spread, meaning at the end of the match, when you add up the games for each player, Nadal had to beat his opponent by a minimum of 7. As it turned out, he beat Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, which was a 12-game win margin—enough to cover the game spread and pay the Nadal faithful.
You can zoom out and look at set spreads too. A set spread has you bet on a player winning by a certain number of sets. At the French Open, the women play to a best-of-three, and the men play to a best-of-five. Therefore, women’s set spreads can only be 1.5; the favourite would need to win by two sets to cover (final score of 2-0). If the underdog wins a set (final score of 2-1), she covers and pays supporters.
The men can have a set spread of 1.5 or 2.5 at the French Open. The favourite needs to win either by two sets or three sets respectively in order to cover. In the Nadal-Ruud example, Nadal would have covered the set spread since he won in straight sets.
FAQ About French Open Betting Odds
Q: What happens if a player doesn’t end up competing?
A: Futures bets on the Majors have action regardless of whether or not the player competes. If the player does not compete, the bet is a loss. In the case of a match special, if a player does not compete, or withdraws before the end of the match, the bets are void, unless an outcome has already been determined.
Q: What happens if a player gets disqualified?
A: It doesn’t happen often, but if a player is disqualified, and the other player is awarded the victory and progresses on, the player who is awarded the victory is considered the winner for wagering purposes.
