 Steffi Graf finished the year as world No. 1 for the record-breaking eighth time in her career. She won seven tournaments during the season, including three majors at the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open, as well as the WTA Tour Championships. She also won three Tier I events. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | January 1 – November 25, 1996 |
| Edition | 26th |
| Tournaments | 51 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships Summer Olympics WTA Tier I (8) WTA Tier II (15) WTA Tier III (11) WTA Tier IV (11) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Steffi Graf (7) |
| Most tournament finals |  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (9) |
| Prize money leader | Steffi Graf (US$2,665,706) |
| Points leader | Steffi Graf (4,649) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Steffi Graf |
| Doubles team of the year | |
| Most improved player of the year |  Martina Hingis |
| Newcomer of the year |  Anna Kournikova |
| Comeback player of the year |  Jennifer Capriati |
← 1995 1997 → | |
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The 1996 WTA Tour included the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV events. ITF tournaments are not part of the WTA Tour, although they award points for the WTA World Ranking.