Whether it's forehands or fashion, Marta Kostyuk is not afraid to take feedback

Marta Kostyuk isn't afraid to take feedback, whether it’s about her forehand or her fashion sense.

Having been primarily coached by her mom for most of her career, Kostyuk made her first big coaching hire by adding Sandra Zaniewska to the team last year. The move quickly paid off as the 22-year-old hit her stride, with Kostyuk breaking the WTA’s Top 20 this summer.

Read More: Fueled by adversity, Marta Kostyuk builds on breakthrough season

And off the court, the Kyiv native who once described her personal style as “so simple” says it’s now become an important form of self-expression, as she now graces the pages of Vogue and Glamour.

“When I was younger, I didn't really care. I was just buying what I liked. And then once I started to grow up more and buying more expensive things, I was like, Okay, if I buy these things, I need to know how to wear them well, because then what's the point of buying all of it?” Kostyuk tells Baseline exclusively.

“I actually hired a stylist, so that she would help me to understand what fits me, what I can wear with what and we worked on my wardrobe.”

Last year, then Kostyuk took charge of her on-court style after becoming Wilson’s first 360 athlete. The Ukrainian helped introduce the brand’s newly launched tennis apparel collection to the world, as she stood apart from her WTA peers in head-to-toe custom fits.

Working in close partnership with Wilson’s head of design, Joelle Michaeloff, the 22-year-old has seen several of her tennis dresses go viral this year, including her dreamy forest-green Roland Garros kit and her wedding-dress inspired Wimbledon look.

Read More: Marta Kostyuk's Wilson Wimbledon kit was inspired by her wedding dress

The wedding dress in question was also designed by Michaeloff and the Wilson team with Kostyuk’s feedback. A one-of-a-kind floor-length gown that was fitted between Kostyuk’s matches in China, the “most technical wedding dress ever made” garnered breathless write ups from the fashion world.

With more eyes on her than ever, Kostyuk says she’s trying to be more purposeful in how she presents herself to the world.

I want to try crazy things. I want to buy things that I've never bought and see if it will work out... But I just want to be guided, a little bit, so it doesn’t look too silly! Kostyuk on working with a stylist

“Honestly it’s just about how I feel, how I want to look, and what I want to show out there, and just try to follow my feeling,” she explains.

“The most interesting part (of working with a stylist) was just to hear a professional opinion on how you look, like, what's your body type? Because I think you judge yourself more strictly and differently in a way… As a person, you cannot really look at yourself from the outside and see how people see you.

“It's a personal preference, obviously. But it really helped me change the way I look at myself.”

After several years of on and off again work with her personal stylist who still advises her on ”little things here, little things there,” one piece of fashion advice still stands out to Kostyuk:

“I have this thing that I think that my shoulders are wide. And she was like, Nooo, Oh my god, your shoulders looking so good!” she recalls, laughing.

“At first I felt really restricted,” Kostyuk added. “I felt like, Oh, this I cannot wear? Dos and don’ts, all these things. And then with time, I was like, You know what? I was so simple all these years, so now I don't care.

“I want to try crazy things. I want to buy things that I've never bought and see if it will work out. I'm trying to go that direction more and more now, because I just feel like I'm not that scared anymore to risk and I'm pretty happy about it.

“But I just want to be guided, a little bit, so it doesn’t look too silly!”

Read More: Marta Kostyuk stars in Vogue Ukraine photo shoot with Olympians and Paralympians

While her on-court style has been generating headlines, her results are turning heads, too, as the Stuttgart and San Diego finalist heads into the final stretch of the WTA season in Asia.

After breaking into the WTA’s Top 20 for the first time in May, Kostyuk currently sits on the qualifying bubble at No. 14 in the Race to the WTA Finals. She’d be only the second Ukrainian player ever after Elina Svitolina to feature at the season-ending championships, but a debut appearance in Riyadh would just be “a cherry on top of the cake after a great season already,” according to Zaniewska.

“I think what I'm the most proud of, it wouldn't be any particular tournament, but just the way Marta has grown over the last year,” her coach Zaniewska tells Baseline.

“When we started last year, there were a lot of challenges off the court as well, and I feel like she has grown so much as a person, and that helped her to grow as a player on the court as well. Witnessing this journey is probably the most fulfilling thing for me, as well.”

The pair both say one of the keys to their partnership's success has been open communication and honest feedback. Kostyuk was previously coached by mom Talina Beiko, a former pro tennis player who represented Ukraine at the Billie Jean King Cup. Last year, her search for a female coach who could provide both the technical feedback and emotional empathy she was looking for led to Zaniewska, who previously worked with Petra Martic.

Read More: Marta Kostyuk earns best win by ranking against Coco Gauff in Stuttgart quarterfinals

“We are very similar. In fact, she reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age,” Zaniewska says. “So it's a fun thing when you just get to connect with another person on a deep level and in a good way and you create a mutual trust.

“(She’s) high energy, super excited about life, and very young, but at the same time, very mature. So you can have great conversations with her.”

That high energy, aggressive tennis and emotional, passionate playing style make Kostyuk a fan favorite. But in the long term, the goal is to keep building on her results by channeling those emotions in a positive direction.

Not blocked out completely, just “guided, a little bit”—like her ever more stylish wardrobe.