1996 Bank of the West Classic – Singles

Magdalena Maleeva was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Kimberly Po.

Martina Hingis won in the final 6–2, 6–0 against Monica Seles.

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


 * 1) 🇺🇸 Monica Seles (final)
 * 2) 🇺🇸 Lindsay Davenport (quarterfinals)
 * 3)  Martina Hingis (champion)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 Mary Joe Fernández (second round)
 * 5)  Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (semifinals)
 * 6) 🇧🇬 Magdalena Maleeva (first round)
 * 7) 🇺🇸 Chanda Rubin (first round)
 * 8) 🇸🇰 Karina Habšudová (first round)