Defending champion

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...

defeated

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. She won 14 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: four in singles, ...

in a rematch of the previous year's final, 6–3, 6–7^(4–7), 10–8 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1996 French Open. With the win, Graf claimed her 19th

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

singles title, surpassing

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...

and

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

's Open Era record.

Seeds

The seeded players are listed below.

is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated. #

(champion) #

Monica Seles Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Slam ...

''(quarterfinals)'' #

Conchita Martínez "Conchita" Martínez Bernat (born 16 April 1972) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, doing so in 1994 Wimbledon Championships � ...

''(semifinals)'' #

''(final)'' #

Iva Majoli Iva Majoli-Marić (born 12 August 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won seven o ...

''(quarterfinals)'' #

Anke Huber Anke Huber (born 4 December 1974) is a German retired top-five professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open – Women's singles, 1996 Australian Open and the 1995 WTA Tour Championships, 1995 W ...

''(fourth round)'' #

Kimiko Date is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking ...

''(fourth round)'' #

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy Brenda Anne Marie Schultz-McCarthy (born 28 December 1970) is a former Dutch tennis player. Primarily known by her maiden name Brenda Schultz, she married Sean McCarthy, a former American football American football (referred to simply a ...

''(third round)'' #

Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...

''(quarterfinals)'' #

Jana Novotná Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbled ...

''(semifinals)'' #

Mary Joe Fernández Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (born María José Fernández; August 19, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in both singles and doubles. In singles, Fernández was the runner-up ...

''(fourth round)'' #

Mary Pierce Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a retired tennis professional who represented France internationally in team competitions and the Olympics. She was born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, and holds citizenship of ...

''(third round)'' #

Magdalena Maleeva Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Магдалена Георгиева Малеева, ; born 1 April 1975) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to Octo ...

''(fourth round)'' #

Amanda Coetzer Amanda Coetzer (born 22 October 1971, in Hoopstad) is a South African former professional tennis player. Coetzer finished in the WTA rankings top 20 for ten consecutive seasons (1992–2001), peaking at world No. 3. She reached three Grand Slam ...

''(fourth round)'' #

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...

''(third round)'' #

Barbara Paulus Barbara Paulus (born 1 September 1970) is a former professional top-ten tennis player from Austria. She began playing on the WTA Tour in 1986 and retired in 2001. During her career, she won a total of seven WTA tournaments (six singles titles, on ...

''(third round)''

Qualifying

Draw

Finals

Earlier rounds

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

External links

1996 French Open – Women's draws and results
at the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 French Open - Women's Singles Women's Singles French Open by year – Women's singles French Open - Women's Singles 1996 in women's tennis 1996 in French women's sport