“I turned 6 and the abuse started…I was brutally beaten at 9”

Australian-Yugoslav player Jelena Dokic recently shared her thoughts on the physical and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her late former coach and father, Damir Dokic. The former player, analyst and broadcaster retired from professional tennis in 2014.

The former world number 4 won six WTA singles titles and four doubles titles during her remarkable career. At 16, she beat Swiss icon Martina Hingis in the first round of the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, creating one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.

Thanks to her recent interview with Australian Story's Leigh Sales, Jelena Dokic expressed her thoughts on the years of multifaceted abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and coach, Damir Dokic, who died in May 2025 from cancer.

“I actually accepted that he doesn't love me and never has and I truly believe that. You can't do that to your child if you love them. After I turned six, I started playing tennis and the abuse started…I was once brutally beaten when I was nine or ten,” she added via her recent Instagram post.

“I was kicked and punched in the head so hard that I lost consciousness. It's so ingrained in you that you're just not worthy of anything. I tried to reconcile with my father two or three times. It wasn't possible. It's difficult when someone is not even a little bit sorry or remorseful and in fact he said he would do it again,” she added.

She continued:

“We were separated for 10 years. This is the end. I don't necessarily forgive him or have to forgive him but here's the important thing: I don't hate him.”

Jelena Dokic's father also served a 15-month prison sentence, which was later reduced to 12 months after appeal, for threatening Clare Birgin, the Australian ambassador to Serbia, with a hand grenade in June 2009.

He made threats against her due to receiving unfavorable press reports from Australia, in which Dokic had accused him of having abused her. He was also charged with illegal possession of weapons, with a large number of weapons having been discovered at his home.

Jelena Dokic told about her difficult life through her books

Jelena Dokic published her autobiography, “Unbreakable', November 13, 2017, co-written by Jess Halloran, sports journalist.

Through the book, Dokic revealed the difficulties she faced in her life and career, as well as physical abuse. In 2023, she released another book co-written with Halloran, “Fearless: Finding the Power to Thrive', about surviving through trauma, financial problems and domestic violence.

In November 2024, a documentary film based on her life, “Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story”, was released. It was directed by Halloran and Ivan O'Mahoney and won the Logie Award.