The second grand slam tournament of the year is upon us. That’s the 2019 French Open, which is about to kick off late this May, with the world’s best tennis players converging in Paris, each vying to lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires.Read on for a preview of the men’s singles side at the 2019 French Open. Applies to pre-match accumulators of 2+ selections on To Win Match, First Set Winner and Set Betting markets. Bonus percentage is dependent on number of selections. Bonus capped at £100k and applied to winnings. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. New and eligible customers only. Odds on the French Open. While the French Open remains a ways away, you can still get your bets in on the outright winners for both the men’s and women’s draw. That’s thanks to the active tennis futures market. You can find tennis odds to win the major events well in advance of the tournament itself. Men’s French Open odds. The exclusive home of Roland-Garros tennis delivering live scores, schedules, draws, players, news, photos, videos and the most complete coverage of The 2020 Roland-Garros Tournament.

Tennis fans haven't had much time to catch their collective breath following a wild and unusual US Open, but in this, the strangest sporting year of any of our lifetimes, it's time to turn the clock back to mid-May and gear up for the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros. The shortest clay-court season ever is already reaching its finale.

The French Open is a pretty orderly Grand Slam on the men's side -- only nine different players have reached a semifinal in the past five years (compared to 14 at the Australian Open and 13 at the pre-coronavirus US Open), and over that time period, 17 of 20 top-four seeds have reached at least the quarterfinals.

Really, you can track who's going to win by tracking three players: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem. Thiem has eliminated Djokovic in two of the past three tournaments at Roland Garros, and Djokovic beat Thiem on the way to the 2016 title. Meanwhile, Nadal has beaten Thiem in each of the past two finals. This time around, Thiem and Nadal could battle in the semis with Djokovic awaiting the winner.

On the women's side, things are far less predictable. That's the nature of playing best-of-three sets instead of best-of-five anyway, but things tend to get particularly wild in Paris. Only eight of 20 top-four seeds have reached the quarterfinals over the past five years. Serena Williams hasn't made even the quarters since 2016, and in the past three tournaments, the previous year's winner has failed to reach the quarters as well.

(That streak is guaranteed to continue since 2019's French Open champ, Ashleigh Barty, is not participating.)

As we did for the US Open, let's walk through different clusters of players in each draw to give ourselves a good lay of the land before the chaos ensues.

Betting favorites

Per Caesars by William Hill, here are the favorites on the men's side.

• Nadal (+110)

• Djokovic (+210)

• Thiem (+300)

• Stefanos Tsitsipas (+2800)

• Alexander Zverev (+3900)

• Daniil Medvedev (+3900)

About what you'd expect, right? Odds of -110 are equivalent to saying Nadal has about a 48% chance of winning what would be his 13th French Open title, while Djokovic is at 32%, Thiem is at 25% and no one else is over 3%. (Yes, these odds add up to over 100%. That's the way it works in gambling.)

If you're looking for a new threat, Zverev might be the best bet. He has not only reached the past two French quarterfinals, but he has also experienced a Slam breakthrough in 2020, reaching the semis in Australia and the finals in the US Open. Tsitsipas has a game that might translate to clay better than Zverev's or Medvedev's, but the 22-year-old has battled consistency issues in Slams during his young career, advancing past the fourth round in any Slam only once.

Here are the women's favorites:

• Simona Halep (+250)

• Garbine Muguruza (+700)

• Victoria Azarenka (+1200)

• Williams (+1200)

• Elina Svitolina (+1400)

• Kiki Bertens (+1600)

Halep, the 2018 champion and 2017 runner-up, has odds that translate to about a 29% chance, while Muguruza, winner in 2016 and semifinalist in 2018, is next at 13%. It makes sense that they're favored, especially since Muguruza might have the cleanest draw of any favorite despite her No. 11 seed, but one could make a convincing case that no one has anywhere close to a 29% chance against the field, even the extremely in-form Halep.

On the rise

Not including the betting favorites above, here are the men's players who have seen their ratings points rise the most since the start of this long, strange 2020:

• Andrey Rublev

• Pablo Carreno Busta

• Cristian Garin

• Filip Krajinovic

• Casper Ruud

Garin and Ruud have both seen clay-court breakthroughs in 2020. Garin won two of the first three clay tournaments of the year, while Ruud has reached three clay semifinals this year and won in Buenos Aires. The 28-year-old Krajinovic, meanwhile, has seen his career thrown off course by injury a couple of times but reached the third round at the French Open last year and stomped 2018 French semifinalist Marco Cecchinato on his way to the third round in the recent Italian Open. Krajinovic is the No. 26 seed and could face Tsitsipas in the third round.

• Sofia Kenin

• Jennifer Brady

• Elena Rybakina

• Shelby Rogers

• Patricia Maria Tig

Kenin's recent double-bagel loss to Azarenka on clay did not instill confidence, but she did reach the fourth round in Paris last year. While Rogers did reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros back in 2016 and looked resurgent in reaching the US Open quarters recently, Tig might be a particularly interesting sleeper. The 26-year-old started the year ranked 114th but is a career-high 58th after winning in Istanbul earlier this month. Eleven of her 14 ITF titles, and now her only WTA title, came on clay. With a first-round win, she could get a second-round shot at No. 22 seed Karolina Muchova.

Dangerous on clay

Garin and Ruud have had particularly good seasons on the dirt this year, but a few more names are worth bringing up:

• Diego Schwartzman

• Miomir Kecmanovic

• Albert Ramos-Vinolas

• Joao Sousa

• Laslo Djere

Schwartzman was upset in last year's French Open second round by Argentinian countryman Leonardo Mayer, but he reached the quarterfinals in 2018, two of his three career titles came on clay and, most impressive at the moment, he took down Nadal in straight sets while reaching the finals of last week's Italian Open. Kecmanovic, meanwhile, won at Kitzbuhel, and Djere has made a pair of clay semis in 2020.

On the women's side, we start with a player who almost feels like a sleeper despite earning the No. 2 seed.

• Karolina Pliskova

• Anett Kontaveit

• Fiona Ferro

• Elise Mertens

• Iga Swiatek

Pliskova reached the semis at Roland Garros in 2017 and reached both the finals in Rome and the semis in Prague this year. She's battling a serious Slam funk at the moment -- since reaching the Aussie Open semis in 2019, she hasn't made it past the fourth round of one and got swept out of the US Open in the second round as the No. 1 seed.

Veterans to watch

It's both a shame and a blessing that Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray drew a first-round match against each other. It assures an early marquee battle, but it will also prevent one of them from making a run. The two shared an epic five-set battle in the 2017 French Open semifinals, but while Murray took down Wawrinka in the same round in 2016, Wawrinka has a 4-1 lifetime advantage over him on clay.

• Wawrinka

• Murray

• Kei Nishikori

• Karen Khachanov

• Cecchinato

Like Murray, Cecchinato is currently outside the ATP top 100. He had to battle in through qualifying, but he could be a tricky first-round matchup with No. 25 seed Alex De Minaur.

There are former champions abound in the women's field despite Barty's absence. Along with Halep, Muguruza and Williams, you've also got 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko and 2009 champion and No. 28 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Ostapenko could face Pliskova in the second round. The past two years' runners-up, No. 19 seed Marketa Vondrousova and No. 29 Sloane Stephens, both lurk as well.

• Ostapenko

• Kuznetsova

• Vondrousova

• Stephens

• Johanna Konta

In all, 13 women in the field have made at least the quarterfinals in the past five years, and Kuznetsova has seven pre-2015 quarterfinal appearances as well. Lots of women headed into the Paris bubble thinking they've got a great shot to make some noise.

Predictions

For my US Open preview, I walked through three favorites and a wild card for each quarter of the draw. It was a fun exercise for expectation-setting, and it identified all eight eventual semifinalists. So let's do it again!

Men:

• Djokovic quarter: Djokovic, Carreno Busta, Matteo Berrettini, Garin

• Medvedev quarter: Tsitsipas, Rublev, Medvedev, Krajinovic

• Thiem quarter: Thiem, Schwartzman, Ruud, Wawrinka

• Nadal quarter: Nadal, Zverev, David Goffin, Fabio Fognini

French Open Pre Tournament Odds College Football

It's easy to assume we know how this draw will play out -- Djokovic faces the Thiem-Nadal winner in the final -- but it's worth mentioning that each of the three favorites has quite a bit of work to do before the semis.

Djokovic could face Garin or Khachanov in the fourth round and Berrettini, Carreno Busta or Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters. Thiem gets two-time quarterfinalist Marin Cilic in the first round and could draw Ruud in the third, Wawrinka in the fourth and Schwartzman or Gael Monfils in the quarters. Nadal has the cleanest possible route but could still draw Nishikori in the third round and clay nemesis Fognini, who has three career clay wins over the legend, in the fourth. Survive that, and Zverev could await in the quarters.

Women:

• Halep quarter: Halep, Bertens, Vondrousova, Swiatek

• Svitolina quarter: Williams, Mertens, Svitolina, Azarenka

• Kenin quarter: Muguruza, Rybakina, Kenin, Aryna Sabalenka

• Pliskova quarter: Petra Kvitova, Petra Martic, Pliskova, Stephens

Over the past five years, an average of only 1.6 top-four seeds have reached even the quarterfinals. One could see how chaos might ensue once more. In fact, only one of each quarter's top seeds is listed as either my favorite or second-favorite in each quarter. Pliskova's road is particularly ridiculous -- she could face Ostapenko in the second round, Martic or top-ranked Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in the fourth and either Kvitova or Madison Keys in the quarters. Maybe having lower expectations this time around will help her.

As the legal sports betting environment continues to evolve, sports fans are beginning to expand their horizons out of what they consider to be natural comfort zones. Among the sports that are seeing a boom in interest as a result is tennis.

The action on the court already receives a ton of attention as it is, as tennis is a sport with a very loyal and passionate following. That said, it’s poised to grow to even greater heights moving forward, and it’s not tough to draw a parallel to sports betting as being a big catalyst for that.

There’s almost always a tennis tournament going on. Betting on it is lots of fun, potentially profitable and a great complement to other betting markets you may be focused on. There are a number of different ways to wager on tennis, including live betting.

This makes even the average match all the more exciting, as you can drill down and bet on the individual points, games and sets. There’s a learning curve to getting started, but we’ll cover everything you need to know right here in a bit.

For a great way to begin, look at diving into one of the four majors, such as the French Open. These tournaments attract the top players on both the men’s and women’s side, and they garner a ton of attention.

As a result, you’ll have plenty of easily accessible information to dig into. For example, the court at Roland Garros plays differently from other majors, but there’s a solid amount of data and metrics that you can use to your advantage to find the best plays.

Let’s take a closer look at one of the best tournaments on the tennis circuit each year, starting with the way the oddsmakers see things.

Best French Open betting sites

Odds on the French Open

While the French Open remains a ways away, you can still get your bets in on the outright winners for both the men’s and women’s draw. That’s thanks to the active tennis futures market. You can find tennis odds to win the major events well in advance of the tournament itself.

Men’s French Open odds

There are three clear-cut favorites at the top of the tennis odds board on the men’s side of the draw. That said, the field as a whole is packed with talent and players who could surprise.

Women’s French Open odds

It’s a similar story for the ladies at the French Open. There’s a pair of favorites on top, but another group right behind them that could make some waves.

Best French Open betting apps

Betting at a retail sportsbook is a great experience, but tennis tournaments such as the French Open last up to two weeks. To be able to stay fully engaged throughout, you’ll need to have basic betting knowledge and a sports betting app in your back pocket. Here are our three best sports betting app choices.

1. DraftKings Sportsbook — $50 free and up to $1,000 in bonuses: A slick platform that’s perfectly enhanced for live betting, DraftKings is one of the best destinations for betting on the French Open.
2. William Hill Sportsbook — $500 Risk-free bet: Tons of bookmaking experience is helping William Hill to climb up the US charts. It’s an excellent place for a wide range of markets, including tennis.
3. FanDuel Sportsbook — Risk-free bet up to $1,000: Simple to use and generous with promotions, FanDuel is crushing it in every state it enters. You’ll find all of the tennis betting opportunities you need right here.

Creating an account to use each of these three apps is a piece of cake, and they’re available to use in a number of legal and regulated sports betting states to boot.

Simply click through on our exclusive links to begin the sign-up process so that you can take advantage of the awesome bonus offers. Enter a few pieces of information, and your account will be set up instantly.

From there, follow the instructions on the main website to download the app to your iOS or Android device. Afterward, log in on mobile and you’ll be ready to bet whenever and wherever in your state.

One other note: If you’re ready to take the plunge with live betting, then an app is a must. The odds and markets move fast, so you’ll need everything at your fingertips to dive in and get involved.

How to bet on the French Open

When you get started with tennis betting, you’ll notice that there are offerings that are in the same ballpark as what you’ll find in other markets. Naturally, there are also some differences that you’ll have to consider.

Let’s take a look at the main different bet types you’ll come across and an example for each.

Money line betting on the French Open

For each match in the tournament, oddsmakers will set lines on the outright winner. The favorite will have negative odds attached, while the underdog is designated with positive odds.

• John Isner +140
• Rafael Nadal -120

Spread betting on the French Open

For tennis betting, the spreads revolve around sets or games, as in what the winning margin will bet. For sets, it’ll look something like this:

• Nick Kyrgios +1.5 (-110)
• Novak Djokovic -1.5 (-110)

The listing for game spreads will be similar.

• Petra Kvitova +4.5 (-110)
• Ashleigh Barty -4.5 (-110)

Totals betting on the French Open

A totals bet in tennis revolves around the total number of games for a completed match. Oddsmakers set the benchmark, and bettors then decide if they like the over or under on that number.

• Over 27.5 (-110)
• Under 27.5 (-110)

Prop betting on the French Open

Prop bets are additional wagers you can place on the matches regarding something that may or may not happen, individual accomplishment or other circumstances. Example: Will a tiebreak be needed?

• Yes +120
• No -110

Outright betting on the French Open

You can place bets on the outright winners of the tournament. At some operators, you may even see French Open odds on players to reach milestones such as the semifinals. Odds on outrights will be listed for all players in contention, such as:

• Rafael Nadal +110
• Novak Djokovic +150
• Dominic Thiem +180

French Open live betting

After you have a good handle on the ins and outs of tennis betting, you can set your sights on live betting. This is a facet of sports betting that continues to grow, and it has also helped to spark rising interest in tennis.

For the 2020 French Open, you’ll find a number of opportunities as the tournament plays out. To fully take advantage, a sports betting app is a must. The markets move quick and opportunities can disappear quickly, so you need to be ready as it happens.

Flash Bet, a feature from DraftKings, is one way in which users are maximizing their live betting experience. Viewers can track their bets in real-time with embedded graphics, and they’ll even receive payouts nearly instantaneously once a successful wager is settled.

Here are a few of the different live betting opportunities you’ll come across.

• Points: Yep, you can bet on each individual point in a game. This is a fast-paced market that provides a plethora of opportunities during each match.
• Games: To slow it down a bit, you can focus on each of the individual games within the sets of a match.
• Sets: You can also take a more laid back approach and look for opportunities revolving around the winner of a set.
• Updated outrights: As the match plays out, the money line odds on the outright winner will evolve, which creates new opportunities for profit or to hedge your bets.

Remember — these markets move fast, and you will have numerous betting opportunities during the 2020 French Open. As such, be selective and practice good bankroll management along the way as you pick the most appealing spots.

Safe bets for the French Open

As we look ahead to the 2020 French Open, there’s a pair of favorites on both the men’s and women’s side who look as though they have an excellent shot at doing some celebrating at Roland Garros.

• Rafael Nadal: Quite simply, Nadal owns the French Open. His 12 titles at Roland Garros are the most of all time. The three-time defending champion is the favorite for a reason. A fourth consecutive win here would be less than stunning.
• Dominic Thiem: For two straight years, Thiem has made it to the finals at Roland Garros before being upended by Nadal. The dominant run of Nadal here will eventually come to an end, and Thiem could be the one to make it happen.
• Simona Halep: The current favorite on the board, Halep came up just short in 2017 before returning to win it all the following year. Currently the second-ranked player on the WTA circuit, Halep is also the defending Wimbledon champion.
• Ashleigh Barty: The defending champion and currently the top-ranked ladies player in the world, Barty is expected to once again be a huge factor at Roland Garros. A Barty-Halep final on the clay court would be quite a treat.

Potential dark horses who could win the French Open

While the favorites mentioned up above look like solid bets, that doesn’t mean they have the tournament on lockdown. We could see plenty of surprises at Roland Garros. Here’s a handful of players who could turn some heads.

French Open Pre Tournament Odds 2020

• Cristian Garin: As of this writing, Garin has notched two titles on the clay court for the season to date and has a record of 10-1 on the surface. He’s at the top of the list of lesser-known names to watch.
• Gael Monfils: Currently ranked ninth by the ATP, Monfils has a pair of titles this season and an overall mark of 16-3. We’ll have to wait and see if his hot level of play will continue through the French Open.
• Sofia Kenin: The Australian Open win was no fluke. The 21-year-old has climbed to fourth in the WTA rankings and looks poised to keep going. She made it to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros last year and could go even further in 2020.

Worst bets at the French Open

When choosing outright winners, there are a number of players you need to think twice about. Here are a few who fall into that category.

• Roger Federer: One of the greatest players of all time has already announced he’s skipping the French Open this year due to arthroscopic knee surgery, so cross him off the list.
• John Isner: Isner could be a solid bet for early-round matchups, but expecting a deep run may be asking too much as his best performance here brought him to the fourth round.
• Serena Williams: A three-time French Open champion, Williams hasn’t advanced to the final round at Roland Garros since 2016. She’s certainly capable of a deep run, but use caution on outright win wagers.

French Open Pre Tournament Odds

General tips for betting on the French Open

Anytime you bet on tennis, you have to consider how players perform on certain surfaces and at certain venues. That’s true whether we’re talking about some random ATP or WTA events or one of the four majors.

When it comes to the French Open, this can’t be stressed enough. One needs to look no further than the dominance of Rafael Nadal at this event to know that the clay court at Roland Garros is an intimidating hill to climb.

For this year’s edition, be sure to take some time to study the draw once it’s released. Each player will have a clear path ahead, but those who are running into landmines in the form of exceptional clay court players may find the sledding tougher than normal.

Here are some other tips to keep in mind as you get set to place your bets on the 2020 French Open.

• Study the odds board: We can glean a whole lot about the current lay of the land by studying the futures market in advance of tennis tournaments. Favorites are where they are for a reason, as are the underdogs. Know what the odds are telling you, but don’t be afraid to pounce if you come across an intriguing dark horse.
• Roland Garros history: It’s a big stage and a tough surface to have success on. Some players are up to the task, while the games of others translate much better to other courts. As part of your research, take some time to study how the players you’re interested in have performed here in the past.
• Season-to-date: While each tennis tournament is its own individual event and should be treated as such, there’s a lot to be said for recent performance. Those who have some tournament wins under their belts deserve a spot on the shortlist, while those with poor year-to-date records need to be viewed with caution.

How does the French Open draw work?

The field for the men’s and women’s tournaments at the French Open include 128 players. Both sides are set up as single-elimination tournaments. Those who win their first round matchups advance while losers go home, and so on through all seven rounds until a winner is determined.

The tournament is laid out in bracket form, which is helpful to think of as four quadrants. The top four seeds will be the favorite in each quadrant, followed by the next four seeds and all the way through to the final qualifiers.

Speaking of qualifiers, there is a tournament in advance of the French Open for players to move into consideration. Typically, the top 12 finishers will earn spots.

The top 100+ players in the rankings will automatically qualify. Meanwhile, the remaining spots are reserved for wild cards, which could be used for those on the cusp of the rankings, a talented local junior or a player who just missed out on the qualifying round.

Once the field is set, it’s a matter of seeding the players. The current rankings for the ATP and WTA play a big part in that, and care is given to spread out the top pros into different quadrants.

The final draw is released in advance of the tournament. Coverage can be found on the Tennis Channel upon release, and you can also follow along at RolandGarros.com for the latest news on the draw.

Past French Open champions

The French Open final is always a big highlight of the year, and we’ve seen some epic matches in recent times. Here’s a look at the last five winners, starting on the men’s side.

French Open men’s singles winners

While Nadal has been a dominant force at Roland Garros for the men, we’ve seen more variance on the women’s champion side.

French Open women’s singles winners

French Open dates/schedule

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2020 edition of the French Open.

• Dates: September 20 – October 4, 2020
• Location: Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France
• Playing surface: Clay court
• TV coverage: NBC, Tennis Channel
• Prize pool: $48 million in 2019
• 2019 men’s winner: Rafael Nadal over Dominic Thiem
• 2019 women’s winner: Ashleigh Barty over Marketa Vondrousova

The official prize pool for this year’s tournament hasn’t been released as of yet. Last year, both the men’s and women’s winners walked away with a cool $2.7 million. The minimum payout for participants in the singles tournaments was over $50,000, and it scaled up based on how far players were able to advance.

The futures market for the 2020 French Open continues to take shape, but clear favorites are emerging on both the men’s and women’s sides.

• Men: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas
• Ladies: Simona Halep, Ashleigh Barty, Kiki Bertens, Bianca Andreescu

As always, the French Open field will be completely loaded with talent. We can safely expect the above eight players to be among the top seeds. The official draw for the 2020 French Open will be released as the tournament approaches.

NBC and the Tennis Channel are handling TV coverage in the states. Both networks can be found on cable, satellite and streaming providers. For other streaming options, check out the website for both networks for specific details on how you can watch on the go. In addition, be sure to check out your sportsbook app for any live coverage options that may be available.