Jelena Dokic provides update after devastating suicide revelation

Jelena Dokic has uploaded a new Instagram video, speaking up after revealing last week how she contemplated taking her own life.

Former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic has provided a promising update on her mental health after revealing last week she almost tried to take her own life earlier this year.

The 39-year-old, who achieved a career-high WTA rankings of No. 4 in 2002, said in an emotional Instagram post she almost killed herself in April because she “just wanted the pain and the suffering to stop”.

In her latest Instagram post on Tuesday night, Dokic thanked her fans for their support, saying she was in a much better place now.

“I just wanted to do a quick video to say a huge thank you to all of you for your incredible kindness, support and love after my last Instagram post,’’ she said in the social media video.

“To get more than 20,000 messages and emails and comments and phone calls is just unbelievable and I’ll be forever grateful.

“You guys are just helping me so much. There are not enough words to describe how grateful and thankful I am so thank you.

“There’s been a lot of concern since my last post, but I just want to let you all know that I’m doing OK, I’m doing a lot better than I was in April, I’m getting all the help that I need and I’m taking it a day at a time on the road to recovery.

“I’m taking small steps forward every single day and I’ll be back better than ever and stronger than ever.”

Dokic said it was tough to share the trauma she was going through but hoped her latest update would act as a “message of hope”.

Jelena Dokic has moved into commentary after retiring from tennis.

“I felt like it was important to do that this time around as well because there are a lot of people that are struggling out there when it comes to mental health and we need to have more conversations about it and we need to destigmatise the conversations around mental health,” she said.

“That’s why I feel like it was incredibly important to talk about it, to talk about my experience and my struggles and hopefully it can help someone out there in their own struggles and hopefully help someone out there as a message of hope and knowing you’re not alone.

“There is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you feel like giving up, please don’t, please keep believing, please keep fighting, please go a day at a time and please know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Dokic (right) has established herself as a popular media personality. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Dokic has repeatedly spoken out bravely about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her dad Damir during her career. The former World No. 4 revealed she suffered physical abuse as a child and teenager almost every time her father was displeased with her performance on the tennis court.

In her 2017 biography Unbreakable, Dokic said the beatings were part of a systematic pattern of abuse from the man previously branded the “tennis dad from hell”.