1997 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
# 1997 WTA Tour Championships – Singles

Jana Novotná defeated Mary Pierce in the final, 7–6, 6–3, 6–2 to win the singles tennis title at the 1997 WTA Tour Championships.

Steffi Graf was the two-time defending champion, but did not compete this year.

## Seeds

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

* Martina Hingis (quarterfinals)
* Jana Novotná (champion)
* Lindsay Davenport (first round)
* Amanda Coetzer (first round)
* Monica Seles (first round)
* Iva Majoli (quarterfinals)
* Mary Pierce (final)
* Irina Spîrlea (semifinals)

## Main 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
* NB: The final was a best of five sets while all other rounds were the best of three sets.

| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Martina Hingis | 7 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 6 | 2 | r | 1 | Martina Hingis | 3 | 6 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sabine Appelmans | 3 | 4 | | 7 | Mary Pierce | 6 | 2 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Mary Pierce | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | 7 | Mary Pierce | 6 | 5 | 6 | | | | | |
| 4 | Amanda Coetzer | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | Nathalie Tauziat | 2 | 7 | 4 | | | | | |
| | Nathalie Tauziat | 6 | 6 | | | Nathalie Tauziat | 7 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Anke Huber | 6 | 6 | | 6 | Iva Majoli | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Iva Majoli | 7 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 | Mary Pierce | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | Irina Spîrlea | 6 | 5 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Jana Novotná | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| | Sandrine Testud | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | Irina Spîrlea | 5 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mary Joe Fernández | 2 | 6 | 7 | | Mary Joe Fernández | 7 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Lindsay Davenport | 6 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | 8 | Irina Spîrlea | 6 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Monica Seles | 6 | 4 | 4 | | | | | | 2 | Jana Novotná | 7 | 6 | | | | | | |
| | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 3 | 6 | 6 | | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 4 | 6 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Conchita Martínez | 4 | 4 | | 2 | Jana Novotná | 6 | 3 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Jana Novotná | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
