Tennis betting tips: 2025 grand slam preview and value bets

The four tennis grand slams take centre stage throughout the year but is there value in looking at outright markets early on?

Here at FIRST, we’ve got a few plays and best value tips in mind to help inform your 2025 grand slam bets. 

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Australian Open

The Australian Open, which takes place in January, is a hard-court tournament and it's the first grand slam of the year.

Current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy won the 2024 title after beating Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling final but who will come out on top in 2025?

Many are expecting Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev to be vying for the four grand slams in 2025, especially with doubts surrounding the 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, who will now be coached by Andy Murray.

Nick Kyrgios will also be making his injury comeback at his home slam in January, a deep run into the second week doesn’t look insurmountable in front of a partisan crowd. 

FIRST’s top tip

Sinner tops the outright market and there could actually be value in siding with the 23-year-old favourite.

He finished with a record of 73 wins and just six losses for 2024, while his Grand Slam record was 23 wins and two defeats.

Sinner, who won eight titles including the Australian Open and the US Open, is the form pick heading into January's tournament.

Alcaraz is sensational and he handed Sinner three of his six losses in 2024, however, the Spaniard has never made it past the quarter-finals Down Under.

Sinner is only 23 years old and it's more than reasonable to expect him to kick on despite a sensational 2024.

Sinner to win the Australian Open @ 2/1 with Betway

Extra tips

Alex de Minaur could be a surprise package. It was a good end of the season for the home favourite who broke into the top ten and made his ATP Finals debut in November. The Australian will have home support and he won 19 of his 25 hard-court matches in 2024. 

He's reached the fourth round from 2022-2024 but he can improve on that. He’s 60/1 to win it all but there’s value in backing him to reach the quarter-finals or even the semi-finals.

French Open

The French Open is a clay-court tournament that takes place from May to June at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris.

This court has seen greats like Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Bjorg and Mats Wilander excel on the red dirt. The slower court surface can suit players who like to play more drop shots, slices and showcase their resilience and stamina in longer rallies. It’s also become synonymous for sliding - take Nadal for instance who would use this to his advantage to make winning passing shots. 

In the last 10 years, only three men not called Nadal have won this grand slam. Stan Wawrinka in 2016, Djokovic and the current reigning champion Alcaraz. But can he do it again in 2025? 

FIRST’s top tip 

Alcaraz, 21, won his first French Open title in 2024 after beating Zverev and he's the favourite to retain his crown.

While we like Sinner for the Australian Open, we're avoiding him in Paris. Sinner won eight titles in 2024 but none of them were on clay courts.

Alcaraz beat Sinner three times in 2024, including in the French Open semi-final and you’re brave if you’re going against the young Spaniard.

Roland-Garros used to be dominated by another Spaniard in Rafael Nadal but there is value in siding with Alcaraz, despite his short price in the market.

In the last 10 years, seven of the finals featured players that were both ranked in the top five. We're not overthinking it and looking for a huge odds pick as the statistics suggest one of the favourites will win it all.

Alcaraz to win the French Open @ 6/4 with Betway

Extra tips

Iga Swiatek is a worthy favourite to win the WTA French Open tournament. She's lifted the title for the last three years as well as winning 87% of her career clay-court matches. She’s a short price so it could be worth combining her to win with another selection. A Swiatek and Alcaraz double could be the value play here. 

Swiatek to win the French Open @ 4/7 with Betway 

Double: Alcaraz and Swiatek both to win the French Open @ 73/25 with Betway 

Wimbledon

In June and July all eyes are on Wimbledon for the most famous tennis event in the world. 

It’s the only grand slam that’s played on a grass surface and there’s around £50m in prize money up for grabs, including both men's and women's singles tournaments winning equal prize money. 

Alcaraz is looking for his third consecutive triumph in London after beating Djokovic in the final in both 2023 and 2024.

But despite the Spaniard’s recent dominance and Djokovic’s winning run and Federer’s eight victories, only two finals in the last nine years have featured the same two players (2023 and 2024). This proves that the grass courts at Wimbledon are where players’ really feel they can upset the odds.

FIRST’s top tip

However, similar to the French Open and the clay surface, certain players seem to thrive on grass. The statistics also suggest that one of the higher-ranked stars will be the winner.

While there may be a surprise contender in the last four, eight of the last 10 winners were ranked in the top three. They were also previous grand slam winners so there isn't too much point in looking for a long shot for an overall winner. 

Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024 - and he might be worth backing to pull off both again!

While he shines on pretty much every surface, he glides across the grass and his movement is exceptional.

It could be a shootout between Alcaraz and Sinner, who reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals in the last couple of years. We’re siding with the Spaniard.

Alcaraz to win Wimbledon @ 6/5 with Betway

Extra tips

It may be a heart-over-head decision but you can get a decent price for Djokovic to win Wimbledon.

We’ve mentioned the big boys usually win it and Djokovic has won six of the last 10 tournaments. He reached the final last year despite injury concerns so it could be silly to ignore him.

He’s got Murray as his new coach and while there could be a feeling-out period for the first few months of 2025, things may have clicked by Wimbledon. At the price, it’s worth taking the risk.

Djokovic to win Wimbledon @ 4/1 with BetMGM

US Open

The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, takes place in August and September in New York.

Flushing Meadows hosts the hard-court tournament which was won by Sinner in 2024 as he lifted his first ever US Open title.

Analysing tennisabstract.com’s court speed rankings, where ratings greater than one are quicker than average, Flushing Meadows shouldn’t feature particularly fast hard courts in this case (1.05 surface speed).

The speed was a big talking point in November at the ATP finals in Turin (1.37). And even Brisbane clocked up speeds of 1.31 in 2024, where some of the biggest names in the sport compete in early January. The surface at the US Open should suit players who have endurance and nullify the big hitters who enjoy a greater ace percentage. 

FIRST’s top tip

The bookies can't seem to split Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic in the outright market for the US Open.

Until Djokovic plays a few matches it's hard to fully get behind the Serbian so once again we're down to Alcaraz and Sinner, who both won the tournament in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

We're siding with Sinner due to his hard-court dominance in 2024. He won a stunning 92% of his matches on the surface (24 wins and two defeats) and he'll be desperate to retain his title.

Sinner to win the US Open @ 2/1 with Betway

Extra tips

American Taylor Fritz lost in the final to Sinner in 2024 and he could be worth siding with in front of a home crowd.

He reached the final of the US Open and the quarter-finals of the Australian Open so he's a fan of the surface. While also losing to Sinner in the end of season ATP finals title match on the hard court in Turin. 

He's a huge price to win it so backing him each-way makes sense. You could also side with him to reach the semi-finals.

Taylor Fritz to win the US Open @ 28/1 with Betway

Like Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka completed the Australian Open and US Open double in 2024. She won 79% of her hard-court matches in the year and she's reached the final in the last two years.

Sabalenka to win the US Open @ 9/4 with Betway

Odds correct at the time of writing.