Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated Michael Stich in the final, 7–6(7–4), 7–5, 7–6(7–4) to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1996 French Open. It was his first major singles title. Thomas Muster was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Stich. Pete Sampras was attempting to complete the career Grand Slam, but lost in the semifinals to Kafelnikov. This marked his career-best result at the French Open. Future three-time champion and world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten made his first appearance in the main draw of a major, losing to Wayne Ferreira in the first round. Three-time champion Mats Wilander made his final major appearance, losing to Todd Martin in the second round.

Seeds

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

Qualifying

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8