Outfit of the Day: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova designs Agassi, Serena-inspired denim in Rome

ROME, Italy—Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is turning heads at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with her latest original design, a denim skirt inspired by legends like Andre Agassi and Serena Williams.

“A lot of girls saw what I was wearing and were like, ‘Are you playing in that?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah, I’m playing in a freaking denim skirt!’” laughed the former world No. 11.

Read more: Pavlyuchenkova debuts original designs at Australian Open

The light-denim skirt is complemented by denim details on top and a matching jacket, helping her snap a four-match losing streak and breeze to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Katie Boulter at the Foro Italico.

“As you can see, I just want to express myself, not only off the court but on the court,” she told me after the match, looking chic in a tenniscore sweater.

“I see a lot of Miu Miu and Gucci doing a lot of tennis inspired outfits, even Brunello Cucinelli. If you walk down the streets in Rome, you see so many tennis-inspired outfits.”

Read more: How *Challengers*, tenniscore transformed the style game

The consummate stylista began designing her own outfits at the start of the season, debuting a girly confection of purple and yellow bows at the Australian Open.

I just think everybody wears more or less ordinary things. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on the state of tennis fashion

“All the design and creative process comes from me,” said Pavlyuchenkova. “I send all my crazy ideas and pictures of what I want to a patternmaker, and the she puts it together in a sketch.

“It’s something really cool to do away from tennis, something that gets my head away from playing because I’ve been on the tour a long time. I’m just so happy and proud to wear something from me.”

The 33-year-old stands out even more at a time when leading apparel brands Adidas and Nike are putting players in increasingly similar outfits and colors.

“I just think everybody wears more or less ordinary things,” said Pavlyuchenkova, who teased something “even cooler” to come in Paris.

“Since I was little, my mom was always dressing well and I remember being that young and seeing her dress up,” she recalled. “I thought it was like, ‘Wow,’ and also it’s important because some people don’t care at all how they look. As I got older, I loved getting to choose my own outfits and doing different nail designs that were cool and different.”

She took then up-and-coming designer David Koma to the 2011 Pre-Wimbledon Party in one of his originals, and hopes she can one day outfit her fellow players in her designs.

“It would be awesome, because I’ve even gotten some comments from a couple of girls who were like, ‘Hell yeah, we’ll be your first customers!’” she exclaimed. “That would be a dream, of course, but I know a lot of girls are sponsored by different brands. But who knows? Let’s see.”