Maria Timofeeva arrived at the Figueira da Foz Ladies Open to play the qualifying rounds and left as the new champion of the ITF World Tennis Tour W100 tournament organized by the Portuguese Tennis Federation from July 20–27 at the Tennis Club da Figueira da Foz.

In front of packed stands for Sunday’s final, the 21-year-old Russian delivered a commanding performance against fellow countrywoman Alina Korneeva, the 18-year-old who won the Figueira da Foz Ladies Open in 2023 during its first year as a W100 event. Timofeeva dominated the match 6-3, 6-0 in just 73 minutes.

It had been exactly two years since Timofeeva last reached a final. But in Figueira da Foz, she enjoyed a flawless run through the draw. In fact, the 6-3 scoreline in the first set of the final was her most competitive set of the entire week, remarkable consistency from the former World No. 93, who secured her seventh career title, the second most important of her career and her first since lifting the WTA 250 trophy in Budapest in July 2023.

By reaching the final, Timofeeva had already secured a place in the qualifying draw for the US Open. With the championship title, presented by Pedro Santana Lopes, the Mayor of Figueira da Foz, she also guaranteed a return to the Top 200 of the WTA Rankings.

Um arraso não só hoje como em toda a semana – 24 jogos perdidos em 7 vitórias.

Maria Timofeeva bate Alina Korneeva (campeã há 2 anos) por 6-3 e 6-0 para vencer 7.º título, 2.º+ importante e 1.º em exatamente 2 anos. Jogou muito.

Ex-top 100 de volta ao top200. pic.twitter.com/23CRubCRGU

— Steve Grácio (@stevefgracio) July 27, 2025

“It’s surreal to have only lost 24 games all week. I didn’t know the number, of course, but I felt really confident in every match,” she said in the post-final press conference. “I treated every match the same, whether it was a semifinal or a final, to avoid putting pressure on myself. I’m very happy to have achieved my goal of qualifying for the US Open, and then winning the title on top of that. I couldn’t have asked for a better week.”

Timofeeva became the third consecutive Russian player to win the ITF World Tennis Tour W100 event in Figueira da Foz, following Anastasia Zakharova in 2022 and Alina Korneeva in 2023.

Now ready to take a short break, Timofeeva praised the atmosphere in Figueira da Foz: “I remember when I played the final of the WTA 250 in Budapest, the stands were empty. Here, I didn’t expect so many people to show up for a final between two Russian players at 11 a.m. on a Sunday—but the stands were full, and I’m very thankful. Portuguese people are so kind.”

She has already committed to returning to Portugal for “the big tournaments,” with Caldas da Rainha, scheduled after the US Open, next on her calendar. It will be another important step in her goal to “return to the Top 100 and stay there.”