Mary Pierce was the defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Kimberly Po.
Monica Seles won in the final 6–1, 6–4 against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.
Seeds A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. The top four seeds received a bye to the second round.
Monica Seles (champion) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (final) Kimiko Date (semifinals) Mary Pierce (quarterfinals) Amanda Coetzer (quarterfinals) Ai Sugiyama (second round) Naoko Sawamatsu (quarterfinals) Shi-Ting Wang (quarterfinals)
Draw
Final
Section 1
Section 2
External links 1996 Nichirei International Championships Draw