1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles
# 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles

Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but did not compete that year.

John McEnroe won in the final 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 against Johan Kriek.

## Seeds

A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.

* John McEnroe (champion)
* Roscoe Tanner (semifinals)

## Draw

### Key

* Q = Qualifier
* WC = Wild card
* LL = Lucky loser
* Alt = Alternate
* SE = Special exempt
* PR = Protected ranking
* ITF = ITF entry
* JE = Junior exempt
* w/o = Walkover
* r = Retired
* d = Defaulted
* SR = Special ranking

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | John McEnroe | 7 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sandy Mayer | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sandy Mayer | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | 1 | John McEnroe | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Brian Gottfried | 3 | 4 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | Brian Gottfried | 7 | 6 | 6 | | | | Brian Gottfried | 3 | 4 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | Sammy Giammalva Jr. | 5 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sammy Giammalva Jr. | 5 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | John McEnroe | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Johan Kriek | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| | Wojciech Fibak | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Johan Kriek | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| | Johan Kriek | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Johan Kriek | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | | | Johan Kriek | $7^7$ | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | 2 | Roscoe Tanner | $6^2$ | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | | | | | |
| | Vijay Amritraj | 2 | 6 | 6 | $6^6$ | 4 | 2 | Roscoe Tanner | $6^2$ | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | | | | | |
| 2 | Roscoe Tanner | 6 | 1 | 2 | $7^8$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
