| Champ: |  Serena Williams |
| Runner: | Venus Williams |
| Score: | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Draw: | 128 (12 / 8) |
| Seeds: | 32 |
See main article: 2017 Australian Open.
Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus Williams in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2017 Australian Open. It was her seventh Australian Open singles title and her 23rd and last major singles title overall, surpassing Steffi Graf as the Open Era leader in women's singles major titles.[1] Serena did not lose a set during the tournament. This marked the first time the Williams sisters contested a major final since the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, the first time they contested the Australian Open final since 2003, and their ninth and final meeting in a major final overall. With the win, Serena also regained the world No. 1 singles ranking, and remains the oldest woman in the Open Era to win a singles major, aged 35 years and four months.[2] Serena was roughly 8-weeks pregnant with her first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., by the end of the tournament.[3] It was Venus' first major final since the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.
Angelique Kerber was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to CoCo Vandeweghe.
Mirjana Lučić-Baroni reached her second major semifinal over 17 years after her first, at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships.[4]
See also: 1 and 1. Angelique Kerber (fourth round)
See also: 2 and 8. Serena Williams (champion)
See also: 3 and 6. 
Agnieszka Radwańska (second round)
See also: 4 and 3. 
Simona Halep (first round)
See also: 5 and 5. 
Karolína Plíšková (quarterfinals)
See also: 6 and 7. 
Dominika Cibulková (third round)
See also: 7 and 2. 
Garbiñe Muguruza (quarterfinals)
See also: 8 and 4. 
Svetlana Kuznetsova (fourth round)
See also: 9 and 7. 
Johanna Konta (quarterfinals)
See also: 10 and 2. Carla Suárez Navarro (second round)
See also: 11 and 4. 
Elina Svitolina (third round)
See also: 12 and 5. Timea Bacsinszky (third round)
See also: 13 and 3. Venus Williams (final)
See also: 14 and 6. Elena Vesnina (third round)
See also: 15 and 1. 
Roberta Vinci (first round)
See also: 16 and 8. Barbora Strýcová (fourth round)
See also: 17 and 7. Caroline Wozniacki (third round)
See also: 18 and 6. 
Samantha Stosur (first round)
See also: 19 and 3. Kiki Bertens (first round)
See also: 20 and 2. 
Zhang Shuai (second round)
See also: 21 and 8. 
Caroline Garcia (third round)
See also: 22 and 5. Daria Gavrilova (fourth round)
See also: 23 and 1. Daria Kasatkina (first round)
See also: 24 and 4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (quarterfinals)
See also: 25 and 8. 
Tímea Babos (first round)
See also: 26 and 4. Laura Siegemund (first round)
See also: 27 and 1. Irina-Camelia Begu (second round)
See also: 28 and 6. Alizé Cornet (second round)
See also: 29 and 3. Monica Puig (second round)
See also: 30 and 7. Ekaterina Makarova (fourth round)
See also: 31 and 5. 
Yulia Putintseva (second round)
See also: 32 and 2. Anastasija Sevastova (third round)
The following are the seeded players and notable players who withdrew from the event. Seeding are arranged according to rankings on 9 January 2017,[5] while ranking and points before are as of 16 January 2017.[6]
| Seed | Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points won | Points after | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Angelique Kerber | 8,875 | 2,000 | 240 | 7,115 | Fourth round lost to CoCo Vandeweghe |
| 2 | 2 | Serena Williams | 7,080 | 1,300 | 2,000 | 7,780 | Champion, defeated Venus Williams [13] |
| 3 | 3 | Agnieszka Radwańska | 5,625 | 780 | 70 | 4,915 | Second round lost to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni |
| 4 | 4 | Simona Halep | 5,073 | 10 | 10 | 5,073 | First round lost to Shelby Rogers |
| 5 | 5 | Karolína Plíšková | 4,970 | 130 | 430 | 5,270 | Quarter-finals lost to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni |
| 6 | 6 | Dominika Cibulková | 4,865 | 10 | 130 | 4,985 | Third round lost to Ekaterina Makarova [30] |
| 7 | 7 | Garbiñe Muguruza | 4,420 | 130 | 430 | 4,720 | Quarter-finals lost to CoCo Vandeweghe |
| 8 | 10 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 3,745 | 70 | 240 | 3,915 | |
| 9 | 9 | Johanna Konta | 4,055 | 780 | 430 | 3,705 | Quarter-finals lost to Serena Williams [2] |
| 10 | 12 | Carla Suárez Navarro | 2,985 | 430 | 70 | 2,625 | Second round lost to Sorana Cîrstea |
| 11 | 13 | Elina Svitolina | 2,895 | 70 | 130 | 2,955 | |
| 12 | 15 | Timea Bacsinszky | 2,347 | 70 | 130 | 2,407 | Third round lost to Daria Gavrilova [22] |
| 13 | 17 | Venus Williams | 2,240 | 10 | 1,300 | 3,530 | Runner-up, lost to Serena Williams [2] |
| 14 | 18 | Elena Vesnina | 2,229 | 2[7] | 130 | 2,357 | Third round lost to Jennifer Brady [Q] |
| 15 | 19 | Roberta Vinci | 2,210 | 130 | 10 | 2,090 | First round lost to CoCo Vandeweghe |
| 16 | 16 | Barbora Strýcová | 2,295 | 240 | 240 | 2,295 | Fourth round lost to Serena Williams [2] |
| 17 | 20 | Caroline Wozniacki | 2,175 | 10 | 130 | 2,295 | Third round lost to Johanna Konta [9] |
| 18 | 21 | Samantha Stosur | 2,016 | 10 | 10 | 2,016 | First round lost to Heather Watson |
| 19 | 22 | Kiki Bertens | 1,956 | 10 | 10 | 1,956 | First round lost to Varvara Lepchenko |
| 20 | 23 | Zhang Shuai | 1,885 | 470 | 70 | 1,485 | Second round lost to Alison Riske |
| 21 | 24 | Caroline Garcia | 1,765 | 10 | 130 | 1,885 | Third round lost to Barbora Strýcová [16] |
| 22 | 26 | Daria Gavrilova | 1,665 | 240 | 240 | 1,665 | Fourth round lost to Karolína Plíšková [5] |
| 23 | 25 | Daria Kasatkina | 1,700 | 130 | 10 | 1,580 | First round lost to Peng Shuai |
| 24 | 27 | 1,620 | 10 | 430 | 2,040 | Quarter-finals lost to Venus Williams [13] | |
| 25 | 28 | Tímea Babos | 1,545 | 70 | 10 | 1,485 | First round lost to Nicole Gibbs |
| 26 | 30 | Laura Siegemund | 1,502 | 130 | 10 | 1,382 | First round lost to  Jelena Janković |
| 27 | 29 | Irina-Camelia Begu | 1,502 | 10 | 70 | 1,562 | Second round lost to Kristýna Plíšková |
| 28 | 43 | Alizé Cornet | 1,242 | 70 | 70 | 1,242 | Second round lost to Maria Sakkari |
| 29 | 46 | Monica Puig | 1,215 | 130 | 70 | 1,155 | Second round lost to Mona Barthel [Q] |
| 30 | 34 | Ekaterina Makarova | 1,377 | 240 | 240 | 1,377 | Fourth round lost to Johanna Konta [9] |
| 31 | 31 | Yulia Putintseva | 1,450 | 130 | 70 | 1,390 | Second round lost to Jeļena Ostapenko |
| 32 | 33 | Anastasija Sevastova | 1,425 | 110 | 130 | 1,445 | Third round lost to Garbiñe Muguruza [7] |
The following players would have been seeded, but they withdrew or not entered from the event.
| Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points after | Withdrawal reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Madison Keys | 4,137 | 240 | 3,897 | Wrist injury[8] | |
| 11 | 3,485 | 70 | 3,415 | Off-court injury[9] | ||
| 14 | 2,591 | 430 | 2,161 | Maternity[10] |
See main article: 2017 Australian Open – Main draw wildcard entries.
See main article: 2017 Australian Open – Women's singles qualifying.
& – not included on entry list
† – withdrew from entry list
| Category | S. Williams | V. Williams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st serve % | 37/61 (61%) | 46/67 (69%) | ||
| 1st serve points won | bgcolor=98FB98 | 28 of 37 = 76% | 31 of 46 = 67% | |
| 2nd serve points won | bgcolor=98FB98 | 11 of 24 = 46% | 6 of 21 = 29% | |
| Total service points won | 39 of 61 = 63.93% | 37 of 67 = 55.22% | ||
| Aces | 10 | 7 | ||
| Double faults | 5 | 3 | ||
| Winners | 27 | 21 | ||
| Unforced errors | 23 | 25 | ||
| Net points won | 6 of 7 = 86% | 6 of 10 = 60% | ||
| Break points converted | 4 of 11 = 36% | 2 of 3 = 67% | ||
| Return points won | 30 of 67 = 45% | 22 of 61 = 36% | ||
| Total points won | bgcolor=98FB989 | 69 | 59 | |
| Source | ||||