María José Martínez Sánchez defeated Jelena Janković in the final, 7–6(7–5), 7–5 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2010 Italian Open. Martínez Sánchez was unseeded in the main draw.
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Alexandra Dulgheru.
Top seed and world No. 1 Serena Williams made it to the semifinals, but was edged by Janković after failing to convert a match point. Unseeded and former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic also made a surprise run into the semifinals by beating two top 10 players and a top 15 player, but failed to defeat Martínez Sánchez.
Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.