steffi graf was the defending champion, and successfully defended her title, defeating arantxa sánchez vicario in the final, 6–3, 7–5 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 1996 wimbledon championships. this gave graf the seventh wimbledon title of her career and her 20th major title (the first woman in the open era to do so). it was the second consecutive major final between the two women, with graf also winning the french open crown a month earlier. with this victory, graf captured her seventh and final wimbledon crown, while it marked sánchez vicario's last appearance in the ladies' wimbledon final.