Mats Wilander defeated Guillermo Vilas in the final, 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–0, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1982 French Open. It was his first major title and first top-level title overall. He had won the boys’ title only the previous year, and was making his French Open main-draw debut. He defeated four of the top-five seeded players consecutively to win the title (second seed Ivan Lendl, fifth seed Vitas Gerulaitis, fourth seed José Luis Clerc, and third seed Vilas). Björn Borg was the four-time reigning champion, but chose not to participate after the Men's Tennis Council ruled he had not played enough tournaments and would have to qualify. World No. 1 John McEnroe withdrew with an ankle injury.

Seeds

The seeded players are listed below. Mats Wilander is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.

Draw

Final eight

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8