Held over two weeks in January at the height of summer in Melbourne, the hardcourt surface and extreme heat serve as the great equalizers at the Aussie Open.
Only the game’s best athletes in peak shape can survive and thrive in the tough conditions. Tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have proven that with 9 and 7 singles titles, respectively.
That insight gives you a key direction to lean when betting on Aussie Open favorites and contenders. See below for how to bet on Aussie Open tennis at legal US online sportsbooks.
Best Aussie Open betting sites
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Live tennis odds for the Australian Open
Live match betting is where you bet on matches, games, or sets as they’re happening. Fluctuating odds are based on the following:
- The current score
- Time elapsed
- Who has the momentum
- etc
You can bet live on everything from basic match lines to set, game, and point lines. Of course, the odds constantly change and change quite fast, so using a sportsbook app is a huge advantage.
Apps are the best way to get a bet down fast enough. Get in line at a betting window, and either the circumstances of the match or the odds will almost always change before you get to the front.
Live match betting adds a new layer of betting excitement to watching the Australian Open. Keep your sportsbook app open on your phone or tablet beside you, and you can even watch the stroke-by-stroke play unfold in real-time.
Related pages:
Who are the favorites in the Men’s Australian Open draw?
Here are the current Australian Open favorites in the men’s singles draw:
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic missed the 2022 Australian Open. He was deported from Australia because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.
But now he’s back.
Djokovic owns a record nine Australian Open titles and has won the last three he’s played in.
He is currently ranked No. 5 in the world and is the consensus favorite to win his 10th.
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev may have slipped in the rankings a little last year, but he’s proven to be a force at the Australian Open.
The 26-year-old Russian has reached the final in consecutive years and will be hoping that third time’s a charm this time around. The former world No. 1 now sits at 8th in the ATP rankings.
With Carlos Alcaraz out of the tournament with a leg injury, Medvedev now has the second shortest odds on the men’s side.
Rafael Nadal
Nadal is the defending champion. He won his second Australian Open title in 2022.
Injuries slowed him down in the second half of the 2022 season, but the world No. 2 is still a top seed and a favorite heading into Melbourne.
The Spaniard is on a quest to add to his record 22 Grand Slam championships.
Who are the favorites in the Women’s Australian Open draw?
Here’s are the current Australian Open favorites in the women’s singles draw:
Iga Świątek
Aussie Ashleigh Barty won the Australian Open in 2022, but she’s since retired from tennis. That likely leaves world No. 1 Świątek as the favorite for 2023.
She was a semifinalist in her best-ever run at the Australian Open in 2022 and already has three Grand Slam titles.
Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka was ousted in the fourth round in the previous two Australian Opens. Oddsmakers like her to take the leap this year.
The WTA no. 5 player has yet to make a finals appearance at a major, but reached the semis at the US Open in consecutive years (2022, 2021) and made a final four appearance at Wimbledon in ’21 as well.
Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula had quite the 2022 season. The American reached the quarter-finals in three of four majors, while falling in the third round at Wimbledon.
She’s now made back-to-back quarters appearances at the Australian Open. With Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty out of the picture, Pegula has potential to take it a step further this year.
Check the latest Aussie Open odds:
Can I bet on Doubles tennis at the Australian Open?
The same bets on men’s and women’s singles in the Australian Open can be placed on men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles.
Just be aware that the best singles players aren’t always the best doubles players. There are doubles specialists, dedicated doubles teams, and players that excel at the doubles game even if their singles results are mixed.
Aussie Open tennis results – Past 5 years
Here’s a look at the past five Australian Open men’s and women’s singles champions:
| Australian Open | Men’s Champion | Women’s Champion |
| 2022 | Rafael Nadal | Ashleigh Barty |
| 2021 | Novak Djokovic | Naomi Osaka |
| 2020 | Novak Djokovic | Sofia Kenin |
| 2019 | Novak Djokovic | Naomi Osaka |
| 2018 | Roger Federer | Caroline Wozniacki |
Australian Open tennis – Key stats
- 2023 Australian Open
- Venue: Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia
- Dates: Monday, Jan. 16 through Sunday, Jan. 29
- Surface: Hard court
- Prize Money: Winner – $3.1 million AUD, Runner-Up – $1.55 million AUD
- Attendance Target: 900,000
- Men’s favorites: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz
- Women’s favorites: AIga Świątek, Naomi Osaka, Danielle Collins
- 2022 results: Rafael Nadal (Men’s Singles Champion), Ashleigh Barty (Women’s Singles Champion)
- Official Twitter: @AustralianOpen
Australian Open tennis betting tips
Here are three great tips for betting on tennis at the Australian Open:
- Avoid the early rounds: The top players face lower seeded and unseeded players early, and since upsets are rare, the top seeds are huge favorites. It’s probably best to avoid match betting this early because the tiny payouts on the top seeds are hardly worth the risk, and the odds paid on an upset aren’t anywhere near real-world odds.
- The court’s the thing: There are hard court, clay, and grass experts in professional tennis. The surface matters, and that’s why you should always back consistent hard court winners in Australia.
- Momentum is real: Injuries and recent results should factor into who you bet on in Australia. Who’s hot, who’s not, and who’s hurt are all things you should be thinking about even heading into the year’s first Grand Slam.
How Australian Open odds work
Betting on the Australian Open starts with a futures market that’s open all year long.
It becomes an outrights market as the tournament approaches, begins and continues, until a champion is crowned. Essentially, this is where you bet on a player to win the Australian Open.
Like most futures, you book your bets at the currently posted odds, which are generally longer the further out from the start of the tournament. That almost always means the chance to bet on even the big favorites at favorable odds when the Australian Open is still months away.
Even when it’s just days away, or a few rounds in, the difficult road one must travel to win in Melbourne means you can get decent odds on any player almost all the way through. Only when a true favorite emerges in the quarterfinals or semifinals will you have to lay money on any player in the futures or outright market.
You should also be able to bet on players advancing to a specific round, and going deeper than another player or group of players, in the outrights market. Although, the odds paid are always better if you pick outright winners instead.
No matter who or what you’re betting on in these markets, the odds change based on a player’s actual chances of advancing and winning the title. Eliminated players are pulled off the board and new odds are posted based on that.
Outside of futures and outrights, there is also individual match-by-match betting throughout the Australian Open that includes:
- Moneyline Betting: Here’s where you pick straight-up match winners. Lay money on the favorite, or try to double your money or more on the underdog. Either way, you lock in your bet at the currently posted odds.
- Set/Game Spread Betting: Here’s where you pick match winners with a spread set by sportsbooks factored in. The spread can involve a number of sets or games. The favorite gives away the sets or games, and the underdog gets them. Either way, the spread serves to even out the odds between players in a match.
- Over/Under Betting: Here’s where you bet on the total number of games played in a match landing over or under a line set by sportsbooks.
- Live Match Betting: Here’s where you bet during Australian Open matches. The bets are mostly the same as listed above, but the odds change with the action on the court and current results. Plus, you can even bet on every set, game, and point as it happens.