1988 Virginia Slims of California – Singles

Zina Garrison was the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to Martina Navratilova.

Navratilova won in the final 6–1, 6–2 against Larisa Savchenko.

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


 * 1) 🇺🇸 Martina Navratilova (champion)
 * 2) 🇦🇷 Gabriela Sabatini (semifinals)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Hana Mandlíková (quarterfinals)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 Zina Garrison (semifinals)
 * 5)  Sylvia Hanika (second round)
 * 6)  Natasha Zvereva (quarterfinals)
 * 7) 🇺🇸 Mary Joe Fernández (second round)
 * 8) 🇸🇪 Catarina Lindqvist (second round)