Australia’s former world No 4 player and now respected pundit speaks about highs and lows in her life, and the importance of family on success
A
ll sports stars know that dealing with highs and lows comes with the territory, as part of the job. But few have been through such extremes as Jelena Dokic, who spent her whole career – and much of her life –navigating painful moments. Abused, physically and psychologically, by her father, Dokic suffered from depression and an eating disorder and, at her very lowest moments, contemplated suicide.
But Dokic never gave up, showing rare resilience, built from her experience growing up in a war-torn country and being a refugee twice. (Dokic was born in Croatia – part of the former Yugoslavia – and moved to Serbia, before settling in Australia.) Somehow, even in the worst moments off the court, she was able to produce incredible moments on it.
In 1999, aged 16, she crushed Martina Hingis, the defending champion, in the first round at Wimbledon. The following year she reached the semi-finals at the same grand slam and narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
