Martina Hingis defeated Mary Pierce in the final, 6–2, 6–2 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1997 Australian Open. It was her first major singles title, and she did not lose a set en route. At the age of 16 years and three months, Hingis remains the youngest woman to win a major singles title in the Open Era, and the youngest since Lottie Dod at the 1887 Wimbledon Championships. Monica Seles was the reigning champion, but did not compete that year. Steffi Graf's 45-match major winning streak ended (dating to the 1995 French Open) when she was defeated by Amanda Coetzer in the fourth round.

Seeds

• # 🇩🇪 Steffi Graf (fourth round) • # 🇪🇸 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (third round) • # 🇪🇸 Conchita Martínez (fourth round) • # Martina Hingis (champion) • # 🇩🇪 Anke Huber (fourth round) • # Iva Majoli (first round) • # 🇺🇸 Lindsay Davenport (fourth round) • # Irina Spîrlea (quarterfinals) • # 🇸🇰 Karina Habšudová (fourth round) • # Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (second round) • # 🇦🇹 Judith Wiesner (first round) • # Amanda Coetzer (semifinals) • # 🇷🇺 Elena Likhovtseva (first round) • # 🇺🇸 Mary Joe Fernández (semifinals) • # 🇺🇸 Chanda Rubin (fourth round) • # 🇧🇪 Sabine Appelmans (quarterfinals)

Qualifying

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8