Jelena Dokic: Career And Abuse[2023 Update]

Jelena Dokic is a survivor and a warrior. But she is much more than what we saw on the tennis field. Jelena Dokic is an Australian former tennis player. She currently works as a tennis coach and commentator.

Ups and downs, bright and dark, miserable and merry; life shows all the dimensions one after another. Jelena Dokic has seen more than what we call normal livelihood.

Dokic was among the best of her time, ranked number 4 globally in August 2000. She is also a recipient of multiple WTA Tour events.

Her autobiography ‘Unbreakable’ has already been published, capturing many of her experiences.

Recently, in November 2022, she spoke about her own experiences after footage emerged of a teenager being abused in a court.

Today, we will be diving deep into the personal and professional life of Jelena Dokic. Let’s get started!

Jelena Dokic | Quick Facts 

Jelena Dokic | Early Life And Family

Jelena was born on April 12, 1983, in Osijek, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. She was born to parents Damir Dokic and Ljiljana Dokic.

She has a brother Savo Dokic who is eight years younger than her.

The family fled to Croatia in 1994 when Jelena was 11 years old. They left the country at the height of a bloody war and settled in Fairfield, Sydney, Australia.

Jelena did not have a wonderful childhood like most of her tennis friends. Instead, she has been a victim of physical and emotional abuse.

Her father, Damir Dokic, mistreated her since she was six. He used to kick Jelena, pulled her hair, hit her with leather belts, and give her bad names like slut and whore.

Later, her father demonstrated erratic behavior throughout Jelena’s career. But no one knew about the ugly violence that happened behind the closed door until Jelena decided to speak up.

Jelena Dokic | Domestic Abuse

The abuse somehow overshadowed Jelena’s tennis career that she faced at home. However, she still managed to shine in the court without letting her audience know what was happening behind her strong attitude and charismatic blue eyes.

She has been a victim of depression. She even contemplated suicide multiple times.

Damir Dokic usually hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons and was made fun of by the media. Her dad used to be seen drunk courtside, abusing the media, umpires, and officials almost regularly.

The authority threw him out of three of the four major tournaments for showing such behavior. Likewise, the WTA tour banned him.

Damir was described as the “tennis dad from hell.” He was demonstrated as a drunken buffoon. People who read Jelena’s book know how much of evil he was.

Jelena was mistreated, possibly the worst that could be expected from a parent. The aftermath was equally hard for Jelena as she suffered from PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

After footage of a teenage girl being abused on a court went viral on Twitter, former tennis star Jelena Dokic also opened up about her own harrowing experiences in November 2022.

In an interview with 9news.com.au, Dokic said, “It was just sickening to watch, as someone who’s been through it. I was actually kicked until I was unconscious a week before the US Open when I was 16 and it wasn’t the only time. Unfortunately, what happens behind closed doors is even worse.”

Also, back in April 2022, she took her Instagram to share about the time she attempted suicide. In the post, she wrote that she almost jumped off her 26th floor balcony and took her own life.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Consequences

She did not even have the liberty to lose, which no one does consciously or in a pre-planned manner. Damir struck her very hard and kicked 17 years old Jelena out of their home after losing a tight match against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2000.

But that was not the first time she was mistreated. 

A cleaner saw her scared and anxious in the Wimbledon players’ lounge block and informed the tournament referee. The referee then contacted her management.

The audience and the authority knew how unhealthy the environment in the Dokic household was after seeing Damir’s behavior at tournaments. The media made fun of it, throwing jokes and punchlines at him.

Jelena then had to face the consequences in the form of punishments. Damir took his frustrations out on Jelena. She could neither stop her father from acting that way nor stop the media from making jokes.

Jelena has now become a proud and happy woman. She is indeed a fighter and a survivor.

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Jelena Dokic | Body Measurements And Career

Regarding the exterior look of Jelena Dokic, the athlete is in good shape and has 175 cm in height. 

Further, she has dark brown eyes accompanied by golden-brown hair.

Junior career

Dokic won the US Open girls singles title and the French Open doubles partnering with Kim Clijsters in 1998. As a result, she was ranked the world No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation junior singles rankings.

Similarly, she had the honor of getting ranked as world No. 7 in doubles. Dokic also got the Australian Institute of Sport scholarship.

Dokic was the top-ranked junior in the world at the age of 15. When she was 16, she ranked 129th in the world, beating Martina Hingis 6–2, 6–0 in the 1999 Wimbledon Championship. 

She was also ranked the world No. 4 in August 2002, which is one of her biggest tennis achievements.

Professional Tennis Career

Dokic received several victories in the years 1999-2000. First, she partnered with Philippoussis to win the Hopman Cup title.

She then had a wildcard entry into the Australian Open. However, she lost to world No. 1 Martina Hingis in two sets at the competition.

Dokic began her professional tennis career at Wimbledon. This time, as a qualifier, she defeated world No. 1, Martina Hingis, in the first round in straight sets.

Dokic was ranked No.129 then, and she became the lowest-ranked player to defeat such a high-ranked player in a Grand Slam tournament during the Open era.

Jelena entered into a higher level of competition and didn’t look back. She also won over ninth-ranked Mary Pierce in straight sets. However, she then lost to Alexandra Stevenson in the quarterfinals.

She then participated in her first WTA doubles final, partnering with Amanda Coetzer in Tokyo.

In the year 1999, she was ranked world No. 43. Jelena also played for Yugoslavia in 2001.

Dokic then didn’t stop, demonstrating her skills in the court for more than a decade.

She started her 2011 campaign, receiving three main-draw wildcards during the Australian summer in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. She stood up as the winner in her first match in Brisbane against qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova.

However, she lost to eventual finalist Andrea Petkovic. As per Dokic, she suffered from a stomach virus, which was the primary cause of the loss. She then lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round in Sydney.

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More On Dokic’s career

She also received a main-draw wildcard at the Dubai Championships. However, she got ill during the first round, committing 41 unforced errors and 11 doubles. As a result, Flavia Pennetta became the winner of the match.

Nonetheless, Dokic then went to Doha to participate in the qualifying draw of the Qatar Open. Dokic won her first match but lost to Australian Jarmila Groth in the second match.

Dokic then paved her path to Kuala Lumpur in 2011, where she recorded her biggest victory of the year by winning against Francesca Schiavone in the first round, even though she served 15 double faults. It was the first time Dokic won against a top seed since 2003.

She then won over World No. 1 player Kim Clijsters in Zurich. Likewise, she defeated Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the second round, advancing to her second WTA quarterfinal.

Jelena then began her clay season campaign as she participated at Charleston. She was then seen playing at Fes as the sixth. However, a viral illness forced her to withdraw.

She then had to withdraw from Estoril as well. Moreover, she could not participate in both Madrid and Rome.

More

At French Open, Jelena defeated Fes finalist Simona Halep in 48 minutes in the first round, dropping only one point on serve in the second set.

She then participated in doubles alongside Melanie Oudin. Unfortunately, the duo lost in the first round to the pair of Alexandra Dulgheru and Magdaléna Rybáriková.

In 2004, Dokic participated in Wimbledon, but she lost to Francesca Schiavone in the first round. She had also played in doubles with Bojana Jovanovski as her partner. Sadly, the duo could not win.

Dokic suffered from a hamstring injury that compelled her to withdraw from a tournament in Budapest. She then had to withdraw from the tournaments in Baku and Bad Gastein as well.

After this, Dokic lost several tournaments, but she did not give up. She then again suffered from an injury that did not let her play. This time it was a shoulder injury that had been bothering her for a few months as of then.

Her last match before the injury was against Evgeniya Rodin in the qualifying round of Linz. This match turned out to be Dokic’s final for the season.

2012 And Later

Jelena then started her 2012 season with a game against Mona Barthel. Unfortunately, she lost the match in the first round in Auckland.

She then got a wildcard which enabled her to play in Sydney. Finally, Jelena defeated another Australian player in the first round. However, she lost the second round against Marion Bartoli.

Dokic again suffered from several losses after that. It was later disclosed that Dokic had suffered from a right wrist injury since the beginning of the year. The damage was the reason behind Dokic’s losses.

She underwent wrist surgery in November 2012. Unfortunately, the surgery did not let her play in the Australian summer of events.

Dokic still did not give up. She continued her training but with restrictions. She was then seen in the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff in December 2013. However, she lost to Jarmila Gajdošová.

She then got to play alongside Storm Sanders as a wildcard at the doubles competition. But the duo of Dokic and Sanders could not win.

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Jelena Dokic | Post Retirement

After her retirement, she was engaged by Tennis Australia as a coach and was found coaching rising Australian star Daria Gavrilova in June 2014 at a training camp in Italy.

She also worked as a commentator for Fox Sports at the Australian Open in January 2017.

She is currently working as a broadcaster for Channel 9’s Wide World of Sports in Australia. Jelena is also a contributing editor for Vogue Australia and an ambassador for Fern Wood Fitness.

Jelena Dokic | Personal Life

Dokic is currently single, however, he was in a relationship with Tim Bikic for almost 19 years. She is very vocal about her love life.

Her history of domestic abuse and mental health issues is well-known to all of us. Dokic calls Tim the man that brought her back from the brink.

Tim and Jelena were very much in love with each other. When they first met, they were just 20. It was mesmerizing to see them together, tackling everything as a team.

Jelena was grateful to have someone as supportive and understanding as Tim by her side.

Tim is originally from Serbia, and the couple was in a long-distance relationship for years. As a result, they traveled a lot to see each other.

When asked about children, Jelena revealed that she is not planning to have them anytime soon. But she is excited to witness the journey of motherhood in the future.

She said in an interview that she wants to raise her kids very differently than how she was raised, recalling the trauma and abuse she went through for years.

Sadly in January 2022, Jelena announced her split from her long-term boyfriend, Tin, in an emotional Instagram post.

Jelena Dokic | Books 

Dokic wrote a book named ‘Unbreakable’ in 2017. The book has capsulated Jelena Dokic’s story in her own words.

The book comprises everything from how Dokic survived as a refugee twice to how she survived from her father.

It also has bits from Jelena’s professional life. The journey to becoming Australia’s greatest tennis player and the hurdles that came in the way is portrayed beautifully in the world in the book.

Her journey from Yugoslavia and domestic abuse to Wimbledon and victories hold the potential to inspire and motivate anyone who reads the book.

Make sure to read the book ‘Unbreakable’ to know much deeper about Jelena Dokic.

Jelena Dokic | Net Worth

Jelena Dokic’s net worth is estimated to be around $5 Million.

She had a very successful tennis career, from which she accumulated a lot of wealth. Dokic lives a decent life in Melbourne with her husband-to-be, Tim.

Jelena Dokic | Social Media Presence

Dokic is very active on her social media handles. She posts about most of her life’s happenings. In addition, she shared her weight loss journey as well via her social media account.

You can follow Jelena Dokic on Instagram @dokic_jelena.

Instagram: 101k followers

Jelena Dokic | Popularity

She is a popular tennis player. And now working as a TV host also keeps her popularity growing. Recently, revealing her traumatic experiences during her tennis career has made some headlines all over the internet.

The above image illustrates the popularity of Jelena Dokic based on Google searches in the United States over a year.

Jelena Dokic | FAQs

Has Jelena Dokic gained the weight back then?

Dokic weighed 120 kg (264.55 lb.) at her heaviest. It took her around three years to shred her body. She lost almost 53 kilos (116.8 lb.) in 18 months and now she weighs 67 kg (147.71 lb.).

What is Damir Dokic doing now?

Damir Dokic lives in Croatia these days. He is in the brandy manufacturing business. Jelena keeps no relationship with him as he refused to apologize for his behavior.

It was hurtful for Jelena to see her father not being able even to say sorry.

How is Jelena’s family doing now?

Jelena is in contact with her mother, Liliana. They speak and meet occasionally. However, Jelena has this constant lingering mixed feeling when they catch up. Liliana witnessed every physical and emotional abuse that Jelena faced but stayed silent to keep their family together.

Nonetheless, Jelena is happy and excited to have a healthy relationship with her brother, Savo.

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