1972 Australian Open – Women's singles

Virginia Wade defeated Evonne Goolagong in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1972 Australian Open.

Margaret Court was the three-time reigning champion, but did not compete that year due to pregnancy.

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


 * 1) 🇦🇺 Evonne Goolagong (final)
 * 2) 🇬🇧 Virginia Wade (champion)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 Gail Chanfreau (quarterfinals)
 * 4) 🇦🇺 Helen Gourlay (semifinals)
 * 5)  Olga Morozova (quarterfinals)
 * 6) 🇦🇺 Kerry Harris (semifinals)
 * 7) 🇦🇺 Karen Krantzcke (second round)
 * 8) 🇦🇺 Barbara Hawcroft (quarterfinals)