1981 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Women's singles

Top-seed Andrea Jaeger won the final and $27,500 first prize money by defeating second-seeded Virginia Ruzici in the final.

Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round. A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


 * 1) 🇺🇸 Andrea Jaeger (champion)
 * 2) 🇷🇴 Virginia Ruzici (final)
 * 3)  Mima Jaušovec (semifinals)
 * 4)  Regina Maršíková (semifinals)
 * 5) 🇦🇺 Dianne Fromholtz (second round)
 * 6) 🇬🇧 Sue Barker (quarterfinals)
 * 7) 🇺🇸 JoAnne Russell (third round)
 * 8) 🇺🇸 Anne Smith (quarterfinals)
 * 9) 🇺🇸 Mary Lou Piatek (second round)
 * 10) 🇺🇸 Sandy Collins (first round)
 * 11) 🇺🇸 Anne White (second round)
 * 12) 🇺🇸 Kathleen Horvath (second round)
 * 13) 🇺🇸 Pam Casale (third round)
 * 14) 🇺🇸 Kathy Rinaldi (third round)