steffi graf captured the title, beating gabriela sabatini in the final 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1988 u.s. open. as a result, steffi became the third woman to win the grand slam, after maureen connolly brinker and margaret court. this was her fourth step to completing the first and so far only golden slam. the match was also the first major final for sabatini, who reached two more slam finals for her career. in the process, graf also completed the career grand slam in singles. martina navratilova was the defending champion, but she lost in the quarterfinals to zina garrison.