Twenty-six year old Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic revealed in a magazine interview that her father, Damir Dokic, physically abused her in the past.
In her interview with Fairfax magazine Sport&Style, Dokic bravely said that she’s been through a lot worse than most tennis players. When prompted, the former world no. 4 added that she could no longer take the abuse and fled from her family in 2002.
Dokic made the headlines at the 1999 Wimbledon tournament when she upset top-ranked Martina Hingis in the first round as a 16-year old qualifier. Her ranking zoomed upwards as she went on to make it to the semifinals of the Wimbledon in 2000 and collected five high-tier WTA titles. As a result, she reached a career-high world ranking of no. 4 in 2002.
However, personal and career struggles plus injuries have derailed Dokic’s promising future in the tour and her ranking went to as low as 617 in 2006.
Playing again for Australia, Dokic made a slow but promising comeback in the tour for the next two years. It was at this year’s Australian Open when she stunned the world with her fairytale run in the quarterfinals as a wildcard entrant, beating higher-ranked players along the way. She’s currently ranked 74th in the world.
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Check out Dokic’s WTA Tour profile HERE.
