Arantxa Sánchez Vicario defeated two-time defending champion Steffi Graf in the final, 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 7–5 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1989 French Open.

[1] Graf served for the championship at 5–3 in the third set, but lost the game to love and won only three more points from then on.

This tournament marked the major debut for future world No.

1 and nine-time major champion Monica Seles; she lost in the semifinals to Graf.

It was the first French Open since 1978 not to feature Martina Navratilova or Chris Evert.