Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were the defending champions but only Navratilova competed that year with Pam Shriver.
Navratilova and Shriver lost in the semifinals to Rosemary Casals and Wendy Turnbull.
Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith won in the final 6–3, 6–3 against Casals and Turnbull.
Seeds Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.
Draw
Finals
Top half
Section 1
Section 2
Bottom half
Section 3
Section 4
External links 1981 US Open – Women's draws and results at the International Tennis Federation