1956 Australian Championships – Women's singles

Second-seeded Mary Carter defeated Thelma Long 3–6, 6–2, 9–7 in the final to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1956 Australian Championships.

Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Mary Carter is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


 * 1) 🇦🇺 Mary Hawton (semifinals)
 * 2) 🇦🇺 Mary Carter (champion)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Beryl Penrose (quarterfinals)
 * 4) 🇦🇺 Fay Muller (quarterfinals)
 * 5) 🇦🇺 Thelma Long (finalist)
 * 6) 🇦🇺 Daphne Seeney (semifinals)
 * 7) 🇦🇺 Loris Nichols (quarterfinals)
 * 8) 🇦🇺 Lorraine Coghlan (quarterfinals)

Key

 * Q = Qualifier
 * WC = Wild card
 * LL = Lucky loser
 * r = Retired