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Martina Hingis defeated Monica Seles in the final, 6–2, 6–1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1997 Miami Open. At 16 years and 6 months, Hingis became the youngest-ever world No. 1 player in women's singles. This marked the first time that neither Steffi Graf, Seles nor Arantxa Sánchez Vicario were ranked No. 1 since August 17, 1987.
Steffi Graf was the three-time reigning champion, but did not compete that year.
Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. All thirty-two seeds received a bye to the second round.