Lindsay Davenport defeated Irina Spîrlea in the final, 6 - 2, 6 - 1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1997 Indian Wells Masters.
Steffi Graf was the reigning champion, but did not compete that year.
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.