Incredible detail in Jelena Dokic’s spine-tingling hour-long speech
Jelena Dokic has delivered a raw, passionate speech, showing her transformation from when she “couldn’t string a sentence together”.
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Jelena Dokic has delivered a moving hour-long address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, explaining a decade ago she “couldn’t string two sentences together”.
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.
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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.”
The 41-year-old is now thriving as an author, expert tennis commentator and champion for mental health and body positivity.
On Wednesday, Dokic delivered a moving address at the National Press Club in Canberra, the first tennis player to speak there since John Newcombe 40 years ago.
Speaking without a teleprompter and just one note on a lecturn, Dokic was all class as she told the story of her life and reiterated her mantra of spreading kindness and showing “no hate, bitterness or resentment”.
“He took from me the time with my country, with my people, with my home,” Dokic said of her father.
“Even when I came back a few years later, it was not the same. I was embraced but it was not the same up until my books and now the documentary where people can really see the power of it on screen.
“But I don’t hate him. There is no hate, bitterness or resentment towards the media, even the trolls. I am not a hateful, bitter, resentful person. I went through what I went through, but I survived and I’m thriving today for a reason.”
Dokic 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.
“There was only a couple of people who gave me the ability to write my books,” she said.
“In fact no one believed in it, only one publisher. Everyone else said no.
“Everyone said it’s too sad. It’s too hard to tell. The documentary was the same. Only a few people believed in it.
“There was only one or two people who believed in me reinventing myself, being a commentator, being on TV, being a speaker, writing books, maybe helping others.
“That is all you need sometimes. You just need that door opened. All you need is one person to believe in you. You can be that for someone. I felt the power of it.”
Listening to Dokic speak and deliver an impassioned plea for Australia to do more to combat domestic violence, it’s hard to believe the tennis great once struggled with public speaking.
“Eleven years ago I was in bed, without the ability to get up,” she said.
“Deep in depression. I had no social skills left. Couldn’t string two sentences together. Couldn’t look people in the eye. Trust me I didn’t know I could write or speak.
“Today I clearly can’t shut up. And I’m known at Channel 9 as someone that can talk under water, which is a good thing, trust me. Whenever there’s a problem, it’s ‘don’t worry, Jelena has it covered’ and I’m proud of that.
“Because I could not string two sentences together 11 years ago. But belief of other people got me there. It really did. So believe in someone. You never know.”
The former world No. 4 said 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.
“I’ll work on my craft as well. I can definitely say I wasn’t a good commentator six years ago. There’s no doubt about that but I worked on it.
“I pushed through and I’m honoured to be exclusively with Channel 9 now for six years. I was one of the, probably the first one to put my hand up and go if we’re doing men’s matches, can I try it? Can I commentate? I’m happy to do it.
“They gave me that opportunity and now I commentate men’s matches and I interview also men as well on court which doesn’t happen in every grand slam in every country.”
Dokic said she had contemplated holding back from sharing parts of her personal life story and trauma but decided she wanted to show how her resilience could help other people.
“I want that you see a person who has gone from victim to survivor, most importantly thriver,” she said.
“Someone that’s a winner, a success story, maybe someone out there and maybe that other 13-year-old girl will go ‘she did it. I can do it too’.
“I want to set an example that I stood in the face of hardship and adversity.
“I stood in the face of fear from my father to society to media. To come out and tell my story. “I want to leave a legacy behind that I turned something bad into good, negative into positive, pain into power. And not even just for myself. But the ability to maybe help someone else.
“We need to create safe spaces in environments and call out bad behaviour. We need to stop the shame, stigma and the judgement. And we need to really talk about the incredible power of vulnerability.
“On a personal note, I fought hard to be where I am today, to reinvent myself. And I got a lot of no’s in life. A lot of no’s when I started my commentary career, TV career, speaking, but I pushed forward.
“I didn’t give up. I didn’t give up when it was tough in life, when it was tough as a tennis player, when I was reinventing myself I didn’t give up in my mental health struggles.
“I think it’s an important lesson. If I can do it, you can do it.
“Never give up on your goals and but most importantly on yourselves. If there’s one thing I can leave behind, to my country, my people, my home, and my Australia, please listen.
“Please learn and be open to the conversations, please let’s not be silent about things. Let’s create safe spaces and environments. Let’s support people.
“Most importantly the day that we stop talking about the most important issues in our society and we turn our backs to them, that’s when our world and our society ends.
“So, if I could leave you with one thing — sharing my story, telling the truth, not being silent, and speaking up saved my life. No shame, no judgement, no stigma, but also no silence.”
Dokic received a standing ovation at the end of her passionate speech.
Dokic weighs in on social media ban
Dokic is a vocal advocate for the power of social media but has welcomed the Australian government’s ban on children under the age of 16.
The world first laws are expected to come into effect at the end of 2025.
“I think it can’t hurt,” Dokic said.
“We don’t know the results of the effects yet. Absolutely, the more you lift the age, the better.
“I think it’s hard to keep kids away from social media but I still don’t think it’s normal to have a 9-year-old or 10-year-old on apps and social media. Whatever we can do and test out, absolutely.
“Kids are losing their lives because of online bullying. If you put the ban in and at least have it at 16 and when kids are older and more mature.”
Dokic added that “it comes down to education”.
“We have to change as kind of the world changes and progresses, you’re going to have this as a subject in schools and a subject in sport,” she said.
“We have media training and you now have wellbeing courses and training as well. This needs to be a part of it.
“Social media needs to be a part of it. I think parents need to be more involved.
“So many parents say, ‘My kid would never do that’. Do you know what’s going on? ‘Not really. I didn’t know my kid was on social media because they do it when they go to a sleepover with their friends’.
“Sometimes we don’t know what they’re doing and what they’re exposed to and especially at schools. We need to have those conversations. I think it’s up to everyone. Parents, teachers, coaches, everyone in general to have that question.”
Originally published as Incredible detail in Jelena Dokic’s spine-tingling hour-long speech
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