See main article: 2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy.
Jeļena Ostapenko was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer.
Second-seeded Roberta Vinci won the title, defeating Belinda Bencic in the final, 6–4, 6–3.
Both finalists entered the top 10 of WTA rankings for the first time at the conclusion of the tournament.
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.