In 1996, she reached the third round at the Australian Open. In Miami, seeded 23rd, Sugiyama reached the fourth round, defeating No. 10, Jana Novotná, her second top-10 victory. That moved her into the top 30. She also reached the semifinals of the Japan Open in Tokyo and the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she defeated No. 5, Anke Huber, her third top-10 and first top-5 victory. She represented Japan and reached the third round at the Atlanta Olympics defeating Martina Hingis.