1 month ago
All sports stars cognize that dealing pinch highs and lows comes pinch nan territory, arsenic portion of nan job. But fewer person been done specified extremes arsenic Jelena Dokic, who spent her full career, and overmuch of her life, navigating achy moments. Abused, physically and psychologically, by her father, Dokic suffered from depression, an eating upset and, astatine nan very lowest moments, contemplated suicide.
But Dokic ne'er gave up, showing uncommon resilience, built from her acquisition increasing up successful a war-torn state and being a refugee, twice. (Dokic was calved successful Croatia – portion of nan erstwhile Yugoslavia – and moved to Serbia, earlier settling successful Australia). Somehow, moreover successful nan worst moments disconnected nan court, she was capable to nutrient unthinkable moments connected it.
In 1999, aged 16, she crushed Martina Hingis, nan defending champion, successful nan first information astatine Wimbledon. The pursuing twelvemonth she reached nan semi-finals astatine nan aforesaid expansive slam and narrowly missed retired connected a badge astatine nan 2000 Sydney Olympics.
This May marks 25 years since nan biggest title of Dokic’s career, her triumph successful nan Italian Open successful Rome. Still only 18, she hit Amelie Mauresmo successful nan last and seemed connected her measurement to nan very top. She won 2 much titles that year, 3 much nan pursuing season, and successful August 2002 she was classed No 4. Eventually, nan well-documented behaviour of her father, Damir, who died past year, brought her down, but remarkably, a 4th of a period on, she retains her emotion for tennis.
“It’s a reliable sport, travelling 10 months a year,” Dokic says, sitting wrong nan media centre during nan Australian Open earlier this year. “You commencement playing astatine four, five, six years of age. But conscionable for illustration immoderate sport, those are nan hours you put successful if you emotion thing that you do.
“I emotion my domiciled now completely, doing what I do successful talking tennis, it’s a large passion of mine. I will ever emotion tennis and ever have. Even successful my worst moments, absolutely. And if anyone ever asked me, ‘what astir my kid playing professionally, aliases moreover to play for fun’, I ever opportunity ‘do it’. It’s a awesome sport.”
Looking backmost connected her Rome triumph, Dokic is proud that she was capable to show her tennis expertise contempt everything that was happening to her, maltreatment she elaborate openly and heartbreakingly successful 2 books and astir precocious successful a documentary, Unbreakable, released successful 2024. Dokic doesn’t blasted anyone for her plight; instead, she says she was fortunate, a unfortunate who survived and emerged stronger, capable to thief others.
“I’m highly fortunate to beryllium here,” she says. “Many are not, and galore you will ne'er perceive astir … person ne'er possibly been capable to fulfil their dream and their talent. If you look astatine each nan champions, expansive slam champions, No 1s successful nan world successful immoderate sport, they person had unthinkable [family] support. You can’t spell without that, and you can’t moreover get adjacent to nan apical if you don’t person that.
“I wanted to show parents, to show coaches, and to show nan world successful general, location was this communicative for a very agelong clip that if you’re really, really reliable connected your kid, and really if you maltreatment them, past that creates champions. But it is specified a incorrect narrative.”
After a life of struggle, Dokic has recovered her calling. A respected on-court tennis interviewer and pundit for Australian TV, she is besides a campaigner for victims of home abuse. Content successful her ain skin, she has ne'er been happier.
“I recovered truthful overmuch spot successful really speaking up, successful being an advocate, successful not being ashamed of your life and what you spell through,” she says. “I deliberation owning your communicative and being authentic astir it, yeah, it’s brought happiness to me. It’s really saved my life.
“I opportunity nan time that my book came retired was nan champion time of my life by far, and that’s a large statement, because yes, I’ve had nan lows, but I’ve besides had unthinkable highs successful my life, personally and professionally. But thing will ever comparison to that, nan state that comes pinch being unfastened astir your story, astir who you are, astir what you’ve gone through. It’s life-saving.”
Dokic, 43, has a caller partner and though they don’t scheme to commencement a family, children could yet beryllium successful her future.
“I still americium unfastened to take successful a mates of years, potentially, absolutely,” she says. “It’s ever been benignant of connected my mind. I deliberation I tin springiness truthful overmuch emotion to a kid that will perchance spell done a reliable time, beryllium an orphan, possibly not person that emotion and support. I’ve ever felt for illustration I tin springiness a batch of that, and I emotion kids, truthful I’m still unfastened to that idea, absolutely.”
