Defending champion Steffi Graf defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 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. It was her fifth French Open singles title and record 19th major women's singles title, surpassing Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova's joint Open Era record.
Seeds The seeded players are listed below. Steffi Graf is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.
Steffi Graf (champion) Monica Seles (quarterfinals) Conchita Martínez (semifinals) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (final) Iva Majoli (quarterfinals) Anke Huber (fourth round) Kimiko Date (fourth round) Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (third round) Lindsay Davenport (quarterfinals) Jana Novotná (semifinals) Mary Joe Fernández (fourth round) Mary Pierce (third round) Magdalena Maleeva (fourth round) Amanda Coetzer (fourth round) Martina Hingis (third round) Barbara Paulus (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