Hana Mandlíková defeated the defending champion Martina Navratilova in the final, 7–5, 7–6(7–1) to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1987 Australian Open. It was her fourth and last major singles title. There was no Australian Open in 1986, due to the administrative changes to make the tournament the opening major of the year (as it had been before 1977). The 1987 championship therefore followed the 1985 tournament, held over a year earlier. This was the last edition of the tournament to be held on grass courts, as it would switch to hardcourts the following year.

Seeds

• # 🇺🇸 Martina Navratilova (final) • # Hana Mandlíková (champion) • # 🇺🇸 Pam Shriver (quarterfinals) • # Helena Suková (fourth round) • # Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (semifinals) • # 🇧🇬 Manuela Maleeva (fourth round) • # 🇺🇸 Zina Garrison (quarterfinals) • # 🇺🇸 Lori McNeil (quarterfinals) • # 🇺🇸 Robin White (third round) • # 🇸🇪 Catarina Lindqvist (semifinals) • # 🇦🇺 Wendy Turnbull (fourth round) • # 🇨🇦 Carling Bassett (fourth round) • # 🇺🇸 Terry Phelps (second round) • # 🇬🇧 Jo Durie (fourth round) • # 🇦🇺 Dianne Balestrat (third round) • # Rosalyn Fairbank (second round)

Qualifying

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8