Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but did not compete that year.
| Singles | |
|---|---|
| 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals | |
| Champion |  John McEnroe |
| Runner-up |  Johan Kriek |
| Score | 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 |
John McEnroe won in the final 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 against Johan Kriek.
Seeds edit
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.
John McEnroe (champion)- Roscoe Tanner (semifinals)
Draw edit
Key edit
- Q = Qualifier
- WC = Wild card
- LL = Lucky loser
- Alt = Alternate
- SE = Special exempt
- PR = Protected ranking
- ITF = ITF entry
- JE = Junior exempt
- w/o = Walkover
- r = Retired
- d = Defaulted
- SR = Special ranking
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | John McEnroe
| 7 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sandy Mayer
| 5 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | John McEnroe
| 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brian Gottfried
| 3 | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brian Gottfried
| 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sammy Giammalva Jr.
| 5 | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | John McEnroe
| 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johan Kriek
| 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Wojciech Fibak
| 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johan Kriek
| 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johan Kriek
| 77 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Roscoe Tanner
| 62 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Vijay Amritraj
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 66 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Roscoe Tanner
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 78 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||