Steffi Graf defeated Conchita Martínez in the final, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5) to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1996 Indian Wells Masters.
Mary Joe Fernández was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Nathalie Tauziat.[1]
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. The top nine seeds received a bye to the second round.