Defending champion Martina Navratilova defeated Steffi Graf in the final, 7–6(7–4), 6–1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1987 US Open.

Six-time champion Chris Evert lost in the quarterfinals to Lori McNeil.

This marked the first time Evert lost before the semifinals at the US Open, ending a streak of 17 consecutive semifinals.

This was the first time since the 1980 US Open that neither Navratilova nor Evert were the top seed at a major, and correspondingly the first time Graf was seeded first at a major.

Martina Navratilova is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.