Serena Williams defeated Agnieszka Radwańska in the final, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.

Radwańska was the first Pole to reach a major singles final since Jadwiga Jędrzejowska in 1939, and the first to do so in the Open Era.

With the loss of Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, a first time finalist was guaranteed at the top half of the draw.

Yaroslava Shvedova was the first player in the Open Era to win a 'golden set' at Wimbledon, winning the first set of her 6–0, 6–4 victory over the reigning French Open runner-up and 10th seed Sara Errani in the third round without dropping a single point.

She previously defeated Li Na in 2011 and Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009, and missed the 2010 championships due to injury.