1961 Australian Championships – Women's singles

First-seeded Margaret Smith defeated Jan Lehane 6–1, 6–4 in the final to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1961 Australian Championships.

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


 * 1) 🇦🇺 Margaret Smith (champion)
 * 2) 🇦🇺 Jan Lehane (finalist)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Lesley Turner (third round)
 * 4) 🇦🇺 Mary Carter Reitano (semifinals)
 * 5) 🇦🇺 Mary Bevis Hawton (quarterfinals)
 * 6) 🇦🇺 Maureen Pratt (third round)
 * 7) 🇦🇺 Lorraine Coghlan (quarterfinals)
 * 8) 🇦🇺 Beverley Rae (third round)

Key

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