Latest news with #Damir
Sky News AU
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'End of a chapter': Jelena Dokic is seen for the first time since announcing the death of her abusive father Damir Dokic as she jets into Brisbane
Jelena Dokic has been seen in public for the first time since announcing the death of her estranged father, Damir Dokic, aged 67. The 42-year-old former tennis champion looked subdued as she arrived at Brisbane Airport on Friday, just two days after revealing the news of her father's passing. She kept her outfit casual, wearing a beige jacket over a fluffy blue sweater, navy trousers and Adidas sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a top knot, and she appeared fresh-faced with no makeup. Dokic, who now works as a sports commentator for Channel Nine, broke the news on Wednesday with a poignant Instagram post, which included a childhood photo of herself with her father and former coach. "My father passed away in the late hours on 16.05.2025," she wrote. "As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history. "Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from. "The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief." Dokic expressed that, despite the pain, she wanted to focus on a fond memory with her father. The image she posted shows Jelena as a toddler, with Damir wrapping his arms around her and holding her hand. "And as always and especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too," she continued. She concluded by asking for privacy as she and her family grieve. "Thank you to so many of you for checking in on me over the last few days and for being here for me while I navigate this difficult and complicated situation," she wrote. "And my final words. RIP." Born in 1983 in the former Yugoslavia, Dokic later resettled in Serbia before arriving in Australia as a refugee with her parents and younger brother in 1994. Her rise in tennis was meteoric, reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon at just 16 and achieving a career-high world ranking of No. 4 in 2002. Behind the scenes, however, she endured years of abuse at the hands of her father, who was also her coach. Their relationship ultimately broke down, with Dokic cutting ties and continuing her career without him. In 2023, she confirmed that she had been estranged from Damir for more than a decade and that he had never apologised for the abuse, which she has described as verbal, emotional and physical. Earlier this month, obtained exclusive footage of Dokic at Melbourne Airport looking affectionate with a mystery man- just weeks after she publicly shared her desire to start a family. Dokic split from her long-time partner Tin Bukic in late 2022 after nearly 20 years together. Speaking recently on the Mental As Anyone podcast, she opened up about how the breakup disrupted her plans to become a mother. "I was in a relationship for almost 19 years from the age of 20 and right when we split up, we were about to start trying for a family," she said. "I actually think I would be a good mum to be honest, I love kids."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jelena Dokic's difficult move after estranged father Damir dies days after doco award
Popular tennis commentator and former player Jelena Dokic has sent a 'difficult' message to her fans asking for space after revealing her abusive father and former coach Damir Dokic has died. Taking to social media, Dokic revealed her father had died in the late hours of 16 May. Dokic's relationship with her father was well documented over the years. The Aussie recently announced she had been recognised for her groundbreaking doco 'Unbreakable' that detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of Damir. The former tennis star reached World No.4 during her playing days, but did so under the tenure of her controlling father. Regardless of the pain her father put her through, Dokic shared a message and admitted her conflicting feelings at this difficult time. "As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history," Dokic wrote in an Instagram post. "Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from. The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief. It's an end of a chapter and life as I know it." Dokic accompanied the post with a photo of her when she was younger with Damir. And the former tennis star said she wanted to focus on the good memories she shared with her father as she processes the loss. "For the end of this chapter, I choose to focus on a good memory like this picture," she said. "And as always and especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too." View this post on Instagram A post shared by JELENA DOKIC 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 (@dokic_jelena) Dokic retired from tennis in 2014 and has become a tennis commentator. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist has two books detailing her relationship with her father and has advocated for conversations around mental health and domestic violence since putting down the racquet. At the height of Dokic's career, Damir made her turn her back on Australia and switch allegiances to Yugoslavia, which saw her booed at the Australian Open by fans who thought it was her decision. Dokic was born in Croatia when it was still part of Yugoslavia, but moved to Australia with her family at age 11. She won the US Open junior girls title in 1998 while representing Australia, and teamed up with Mark Philippoussis to win the Hopman Cup in 1999 as a 15-year-old. Dokic switched her allegiance back to Australia in 2005, but said the Australian public's perception of her was "never the same". She went on to achieve a 14-3 record in Fed Cup and produced many famous victories for Australia. Back in January, Channel 9 aired Dokic's documentary, 'Unbreakable', which shined a light on some of the horrific treatment she received at the hands of her father. The documentary was adapted from her 2017 memoir of the same name and it also aired in cinemas late last year. The documentary showed the former tennis star's courage to overcome the horrific abuse and become the person she is today. And only last week Dokic revealed it had won 'Feature Documentary Production of the Year' at the annual Screen Producer Awards. Readers seeking support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline (13 11 14)
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Australian ex-tennis star Jelena Dokic says estranged father Damir dead
'My father passed away in the late hours on 16.05.2025,' the 42-year-old wrote under a picture of herself as a small child and with her bearded father draping an arm across her. 'As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history. 'Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non-existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father, even one you are estranged from. 'The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief.' In 2009, Damir was charged with threatening the Australian ambassador to Serbia and illegal possession of firearms, and served a year in jail. In 2011, Dokic said she had reunited with her father, but they later became estranged once more. In June 2022, Dokic revealed that she came close to taking her own life just a few weeks earlier. Dokic sprang to prominence at Wimbledon in 1999 when she stunned world No 1 Martina Hingis in the first round. Dokic won six WTA singles titles during her career and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2000. 'It is an end of a chapter and life as I know it,' she added in her post on Wednesday. 'There are lots of conflicting and complex emotions and feelings for me.'
New York Post
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Jelena Dokic's father, known for abusing the tennis star, dead at 67
Jelena Dokic's abusive father Damir has died, the former tennis star announced on Instagram on Wednesday evening. Damir, who was believed to be 67 years old, died last Friday, Jelena confirmed in a social media post. Advertisement 'My father passed away in the late hours on 16.05.2025,' she wrote. 'As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history. 'Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non-existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from. 4 Damir Dokic, father of Australian tennis player Jalena Dokic watches her in action during her match against Anne Kremer, at the 1999 Wimbledon tennis Championships. PA Images via Getty Images Advertisement 'The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief. 'It's an end of a chapter and life as I know it.' Just last week, Jelena talked excitedly about the prospect of becoming a mother and her desire to adopt. Dokic, who turned 42 last month, is a beloved figure in Australian sports. Advertisement The former world No. 4 tennis player survived physical and emotional abuse from her father Damir to forge a successful career as a commentator and author. Dokic continued in her post she had 'complex emotions' about Damir's death and was trying to focus on good memories of her father. 'There are lots of conflicting and complex emotions and feelings for me,' she continued. Advertisement 'For the end of this chapter, I choose to focus on a good memory like this picture (see above). 'And as always and especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too. For now, I will leave it there. 'Please respect mine and the rest of my family's privacy at this time. Thank you to so many of you for checking in on me over the last few days and for being here for me while I navigate this difficult and complicated situation. 'And my final words. RIP.' 4 Jelena Dokic described the abuse she experienced at the hands of her father. new york post Dokic's post has received an outpouring of love from a wide variety of people, including some well known names in Australian sport and beyond. Posted around 6.15pm AEST, it already has over 21,000 likes and more than 1700 comments. Author Jessica Rowe commented: 'YOU are a remarkable woman … I'm sending you lots of love.' Advertisement Tennis great and fellow commentator Todd Woodbridge wrote: 'Proud of how far you have come.' Former Australian of the Year and fellow abuse survivor Grace Tame offered: 'Thinking of you. We love you.' Olympic swimming champion Shayna Jack wrote simply: 'Thinking of you.' 4 On the latest episode of the Mental As Anyone podcast, Dokic detailed some of the horrendous abuse she suffered that had her believing her father may actually kill her. Associated Press Advertisement Dokic's heartbreaking story of resilience has inspired Australians for many years. In a new revelation last week, the tennis great turned commentator said while she doesn't hate her father, she could never forgive him for the physical and mental abuse he put her through. Dokic broke onto the tennis scene at just 16 years of age in 1999 as a qualifier at Wimbledon, where she stunningly upset world No. 1 Martina Hingis before going on to reach the quarter-finals. The following year, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon – her best-ever grand slam result – but hidden behind the promising start to her career was a dark story that would eventually derail her career. Advertisement At the height of Dokic's career, her father Damir made her turn her back on Australia and switch allegiances to Yugoslavia, which saw her booed at the Australian Open by Aussie fans who blamed her. 4 Dokic broke onto the tennis scene at just 16 years of age in 1999 as a qualifier at Wimbledon, where she stunningly upset world No. 1 Martina Hingis before going on to reach the quarter-finals. Getty Images Dokic was born in Croatia when it was still part of Yugoslavia but moved to Australia with her family at age 11. It was a move she deeply regretted and never wanted. From there on things went from bad to worse and as her promising career deteriorated with her father largely to blame, the tennis world began to wrap its arms around a broken Dokic. Advertisement But it was only in the last few years the depths of her abuse were actually revealed. On the latest episode of the Mental As Anyone podcast, Dokic detailed some of the horrendous abuse she suffered that had her believing her father may actually kill her. 'I was kicked and punched in the head so hard that it left me unconscious and navigating through that at home, but at the same time, putting on — let's say a brave face — and being able to go out there on the court and perform,' Dokic said. 'I did leave home at the age of 19, escaped during a tennis tournament because the beatings were getting so violent and I didn't know if I was going to survive the next one.' However, despite being a victim, Dokic said she didn't want to be viewed as that but as a survivor who has become an undoubted success in the face of adversity. With the news of her father's passing, that horrendous chapter of her life has now come to a close.
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
‘Complicated grief' – Former tennis star reveals abusive dad has died at 67 after ‘difficult and painful relationship'
Jelena Dokic last year opened up on the domestic abuse she suffered for a documentary STAR'S ANGUISH 'Complicated grief' – Former tennis star reveals abusive dad has died at 67 after 'difficult and painful relationship' FORMER tennis star Jelena Dokic has revealed that her father Damir has died aged 67. Dokic, 42, detailed the domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of her dad in her 2017 autobiography entitled "Unbreakable". Advertisement 5 Jelena Dokic is a regular pundit on Aussie tennis Credit: Getty 5 The 42-year-old has posted this picture of herself with her late father Credit: INSTAGRAM @dokic_jelena 5 Damir Dokic coached Jelena during her tennis career Credit: AFP - Getty 5 Dokic reached a career high world No4 in 2002 Credit: Getty A documentary was also released under the same name last year. Dokic was estranged from Damir for the last 10 years of his life. Upon her dad's passing, the Aussie former No4 as opened up on her complex emotions. Alongside a picture of herself with Damir as a child, Dokic wrote on Instagram: "My father passed away in the late hours on 16.05.2025. Advertisement "As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history. "Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from. "The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief." Dokic moved to Australia from the former Yugoslavia alongside hr family aged 11. Advertisement 5 Dokic, pictured in 1999, was coached by her father Damir Credit: Rex Features A prodigious tennis talent, Dokic reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2000 and peaked at world No4 two years later. Damir's abuse left Dokic feeling "broken inside" - with the tennis legend revealing that the day after a defeat to Martina Hingis she was left with "not an inch of skin that wasn't bruised". Jelena Dokic documentary: Tennis ace reveals horrific abuse by her father - 'There wasn't an inch of skin not bruised' Expanding on Damir's death, Dokic added: "It's an end of a chapter and life as I know it. Advertisement "There are lots of conflicting and complex emotions and feelings for me. "For the end of this chapter, I choose to focus on a good memory like this picture. "And as always and especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too." Dokic retired from tennis in 2014 and has since become a prominent voice in the sport in Australia. Advertisement During a conversation with The Independent last year, Dokic revealed that Damir had not said sorry. Finishing her statement on Instagram, Dokic showed incredible grace as she concluded: For now, I will leave it there. "Please respect mine and the rest of my family's privacy at this time. "Thank you to so many of you for checking in on me over the last few days and for being here for me while I navigate this difficult and complicated situation. Advertisement "And my final words. RIP."
