Australia reacts to ‘horrific’ new Jelena Dokic abuse details in documentary
Aussies are praising Jelena Dokic for her bravery after the tennis great recalled horrifying details of an incident with her abusive father.
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Jelena Dokic’s heartbreaking story of resilience has once again left Australians in disbelief after her documentary premiered on free-to-air TV on Wednesday night.
The Australian tennis great’s transformation has inspired the nation, sharing the story of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, Damir Dokic, in two books Unbreakable and Fearless, plus a new documentary.
The 41-year-old is now thriving as an author, expert tennis commentator and champion for mental health and body positivity.
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Her documentary Unbreakable aired on Channel 9 on Wednesday night after it was released in cinemas in December and met with rave reviews and packed out theatres.
Dokic’s breakthrough moment as a player came in 1999 when as a 16-year-old qualifier, she upset Martina Hingis in the first round at Wimbledon and made a run to the quarterfinals.
In 2000 she reached the Wimbledon semifinals, her best result at a grand slam.
It looked like she could be a future grand slam champion and World No. 1, but behind the scenes a dark story was playing out that would derail her charge.
In the documentary, Dokic recounts a horrific incident when she was knocked unconscious when her father Damir kicked her in the head following a loss.
“I remember he was so mad that he goes into the bathroom with me, locks the door, and he beat the crap out of me,” she said.
“He slammed my head against the wall multiple times. He was kicking me. My shins were so bruised, I couldn’t walk. He actually punches me in the head. And then I went unconscious for a little bit. He also stepped on my head as well.”
In the documentary, Todd Woodbridge describes Damir as an “intimidating” figure, while former tennis players and commentators reflected that more should have been done to call out his behaviour and protect Dokic.
The documentary struck a chord with many Australians. AFL great Brendan Fevola led a chorus of viewers in awe of Dokic’s resilience.
“Watching the Jelena Dokic interview, her story is horrific,” Fevola wrote on X.
“So uncomfortable to watch. You should be so proud of the woman you have become mate. Everything you have achieved after tennis is incredible.
“You’re an inspiration to every Australian. Sending lots of love.”
Phil Gould simply wrote: “Jelena Dokic …”
Ray Gatt added: “My goodness. The Jelena Dokic story is horrific. What she had to go through because of her abusive father. Damir Dokic is/was a monster.”
One person wrote: “This documentary showing how many systems failed a young girl for her to still be able to be involved in tennis is unbelievable.”
A second said: “Jelena Dokic documentary is horrifying. So many people failed her.”
Magda Szubanski wrote during the Australian Open: “Honestly, the sheer tennis intelligence evident in Jelena Dokic’s commentary shows what a brilliant player she was. Extraordinary she achieved what she did given the adversity she faced.”
NRL account The Mole posted: “Just finished watching the Jelena Dokic story on @Channel9 … made me sick. Damir is a vile, disgusting excuse of a man … And shame on all those in tennis who knew, and looked the other way.”
Now estranged from Damir, Dokic recently spoke about the last conversation she had with her father and also shared her regret over changing allegiances from Australia to Yugoslavia during her tennis career, declaring: “I would take 100 years of abuse if I could take back not playing for Australia for a few years.”
She was booed off Rod Laver Arena at the 2001 Australian Open after losing to Lindsay Davenport, after announcing plans to turn her back on Australia and represent Yugoslavia.
“He took away from me, something that I loved so much,” Dokic told the Carrie & Tommy Show last year, referencing how he drove her to switch allegiances.
“He took that away from me in that moment. He’s sitting in a hotel room watching this while I’m getting booed by 15,000 people. I just wanted to kind of drop into the ground and disappear and never come back.”
Dokic represented Australia at the 2000 Olympics, losing the bronze medal match to Monica Seles.
In 2004, she played in the 2004 Fed Cup for the Serbia and Montenegro team.
After a turbulent period in the mid 2000s, the former World No. 4 made a comeback to tennis and made a fairytale run to the quarterfinals at the 2009 Australian Open.
She switched allegiances back to Australia in 2005 and went on to represent Australia in the 2009 Fed Cup, winning several matches.
Dokic had a 14-3 win loss record in Fed Cup matches, including victories over Kim Clijsters and Anna Kournikova.
Dokic said getting booed by the Australian crowd was a low point of her career, given there was nothing she loved more than representing Australia.
“I came to this country as an 11-year-old and I really accepted it and loved Australia,” she said,
“I loved representing Australia. I loved team events. Everything that had to do with team events, I always won. I had like a 99 per cent win rate. There’s a reason for that.
“Fed Cup, Hopman Cup that I won with Mark Philippoussis. I loved it and I thrived playing in Australia and at the Australian Open.
Since going public with her story, Dokic has become a leading tennis commentator and has impressed as part of Nine’s Australian Open coverage in recent years with her expert analysis and on-court interviews.
Dokic delivered a stirring speech at the National Press Club in Canberra in December and explained how she reached rock bottom after her tennis career ended and experienced rejection as she attempted to move into a writing and commentary career.
“Everyone said it’s too sad,” she said. “It’s too hard to tell. The documentary was the same. Only a few people believed in it.”
She explained she always aims to strike a positive tone in her commentary and on-court post match interviews.
“You will never hear me say a bad word about a player who walks off the court after losing 6-0 6-0,” she said.
“I’ll say, ‘Not their day, it didn’t work out, got to look forward’. Always something like that, never criticise.
“It’s sometimes hard because you still have to put your expertise out there on perhaps what went wrong. But you can do it in a kind way.
“I actually had this conversation with Todd Woodbridge … I want this to be about kindness and (being) authentic and honest and to be raw.
“My interviews as well, there’s a reason why I don’t ask tennis questions. I go into other things and try and get players to feel comfortable and to open up.
“And now I’ll have to answer 20 of those in the media conferences. Little things like that.
“It all really started again with me going into it and going ‘these are my core values’. I wanted to do my commentary from the heart, with kindness.”
Originally published as Australia reacts to ‘horrific’ new Jelena Dokic abuse details in documentary
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