QUINTA DO LAGO/STARNBERG, October 20, 2025
Maria Timofeeva continued her perfect run in Portugal by claiming the title at the The Campus Carby Volkswagen Ladies Open, the most prestigious edition yet of the women’s international tournament held at The Campus in Quinta do Lago. The ITF World Tennis Tour W75 event offered $60,000 in prize money and drew strong crowds throughout the week.
Three months after lifting an ITF W100 trophy in Figueira da Foz, the 164th-ranked Russian secured her 12th consecutive win on Portuguese soil by defeating US-American qualifier Alexis Blokhina 7-6(7), 7-6(3) in a high-quality two-hour, 16-minute final.
The two friends, who train together in Hesse, Germany, and even share an apartment, delivered a thrilling contest decided in two tie-breaks. Timofeeva raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, capitalizing on Blokhina’s early nerves. But the US-American fought back, saving four set points and earning two of her own in the breaker before the more experienced Russian closed it out.
Blokhina, a lefty, raised her level in the second set and briefly took control, but Timofeeva held firm under pressure to seal the match and claim her second title of the season — both on Portuguese soil.
“I’m really, really happy with this week and the tennis I played,” said Timofeeva after the final. “I improved match by match. Alexis played at a top-100 level today. It wasn’t easy to finish the match mentally, but I stayed strong and kept fighting.”
With this victory, Timofeeva will rise 18 spots to return to the Top 150 in next week’s WTA Rankings. Blokhina, who contested the biggest final of her young career, will make an even bigger leap, climbing to World No. 355 and setting a new personal best.
This was the fourth edition of the Algarve tournament, which has grown steadily from an ITF W25 to an ITF W75, becoming the most important women’s tennis event ever staged in the region. Since 2018, Quinta do Lago has also hosted a men’s international tournament, solidifying its status as a key tennis destination in Portugal.
