Steffi Graf defeated Karina Habšudová in the final, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5 to win the singles tennis title at the 1996 WTA German Open.
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Elena Likhovtseva.
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. The top eight seeds received a bye to the second round.