Latest news with #Unbreakable:TheJelenaDokicStory
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Jelena Dokic confirms death of estranged father Damir Dokic
Jelena Dokic, a former world No. 4 and Wimbledon semifinalist, has confirmed that her estranged father, Damir, has died aged 67. Dokic, 42, who has recounted her father's physical and emotional abuse during her early life and his time coaching her on the WTA Tour, wrote on social media: 'Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even nonexistent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from. Advertisement 'The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief.' In her 2017 memoir, 'Unbreakable', and its 2024 documentary film adaptation, 'Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story,' Dokic wrote that her father subjected her to constant physical and emotional abuse. In the documentary, Dokic said: 'There was not an inch of skin that wasn't bruised. I'm 17 and through his actions, (I) became the most hated person.' Dokic said she became terrified of losing a match. On one occasion, she said her father kicked her head until she lost consciousness. Damir admitted to having beaten his daughter in an interview with the Serbian newspaper, Vecernje Novosti, in 2009. He claimed that it was 'for her sake.' Dokic, who emigrated to Australia with her Serbian family when she was 11, was a phenomenally gifted teenager and tipped as a future world No. 1. In 1999, she qualified for Wimbledon aged 16 and beat the world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 en route to the quarterfinals. She reached the semis the following year, and represented Australia in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, losing the bronze medal match to Monica Seles. But her career suffered as a result of her father's actions, and she became a hate figure in Australia after he convinced her to switch her nationality to Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia) between 2001 and 2005. Dokic's ranking plummeted, and between 2005 and 2008 she was largely playing away from the main tour, before winning her first Grand Slam match in six years with a stirring run to the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinals. Still only 25, Dokic never hit the same heights again and retired five years later. During her career, her father's aggressive and sometimes illegal public behavior was a constant distraction. Damir smashed a reporter's phone at Wimbledon in 2000, before being banned from the WTA for six months in the same year after abusive behavior at the U.S. Open. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2009, after being convicted of endangering the security of Australia's ambassador to Serbia, Claire Birgin. Advertisement Since retiring from tennis, Jelena Dokic has become a public speaker and tennis commentator, regularly doing on-court interviews at the Australian Open. She said after the release of her documentary last November that she hadn't spoken to her father in more than 10 years. 'It's an end of a chapter and life as I know it,' Dokic wrote in her post confirming her father's death. '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.' A post shared by JELENA DOKIC 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 (@dokic_jelena)
7NEWS
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Australian tennis great Jelena Dokic still has dreams of being a mother
At 42 years of age, Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic has no doubt she would make a great mum. Despite her own tumultuous upbringing as a child and a young woman that left her forever mentally scarred, Dokic says she has so much love to give. Dokic says she loves children and is even considering adoption. 'I actually think I would be a good mum, to be honest,' Dokic said on the podcast Mental As Anyone. 'I love kids.' But, despite that, Dokic sadly admits that her parenting dream may never be realised. 'I don't think that that's going to happen for me,' she said. 'I was in a relationship for almost 19 years from the age of 20 and right up to when we split up, we were about to start trying for a family.' Dokic ended her relationship with Tin Bikic in 2021. Since then she has rebuilt her life (she has previously stated that she was a mess after their 19-year romance ended) and undergone a huge transformation, both mentally and physically. The story about the abuse she suffered from her Serbian father Damir has also been detailed in the series Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story. But Dokic revealed that the abuse never crushed her maternal instincts. Surprisingly, she said it might have even nourished them. 'Even 15 years ago, when I was 25, I always said, 'I want to have kids, but I want to adopt',' she said. 'Maybe it comes from when you grow up maybe in a home that's fractured and with pain and you go, maybe I can give something different to a kid that I know maybe will have the same, or they won't have parents or something like that. 'So I always felt like I wanted to do that for at least one kid in the world. 'That's a big kind of wish of mine and passion and I hope to do it one day. 'Did I at one stage maybe think, I didn't have the best experience and know a lot of people with parents and having that childhood and what would that mean for me? 'Because I know a lot people that have been through family violence or abuse, domestic violence, however you want to frame it, they are worried about that, whether they would be the same or if there's something there.' Dokic said she would consider adopting a child, with or without a father. '(But I'd) love it to have a father as well,' she said. 'I know that I can give it absolutely everything and would have all the love and support and I would be completely different and … I could never be that (like my father) ever. 'I know that yes, obviously, it's a challenge, which I would love. I would embrace it and take it on. 'I just love kids so much. I know I would be a bloody good mum and I know I would give it the love in the world of a million people. 'I have so much love to give.'
Sky News AU
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Jelena Dokic stuns in red dress as slimmed-down tennis star's biography wins big at 23rd Annual Screen Producer Awards
Jelena Dokic has won big at the 23rd Annual Screen Producer Awards for her 2024 autobiographical documentary. On Friday, the retired athlete, 42, took to Instagram to share a stunning photo of herself holding her Feature Documentary Production of the Year award for Unbreakable at the Gold Coast, Queensland event on Thursday. Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, which aired in 2024, chronicles Dokic's life from surviving war and poverty to becoming a world-renowned tennis player, and the alleged abuse she endured at the hands of her father and coach Damir. In her photo, Dokic, who lives in Melbourne, beamed in a red sparkling off-the-shoulder gown by Australian designer Silvana Tedesco. She pinned her brown locks into a neat bun and flashed her signature wide smile to the camera. "WINNER. WINNER. WINNER," the star wrote in the caption. "We did it. Winner of the 'Feature Documentary Production of the Year Award at the 23rd Annual Screen Producer Awards for my number 1 documentary UNBREAKABLE-THE JELENA DOKIC STORY." The former athlete also thanked several of her supporters, including Screen Producers Australia and her IMG Talent agent, David. "Without you, all this would never have happened," she said. "You all believed in my story and bringing it to screen and you all made it happen. "Thank you so much for the belief and the incredible hard work behind the scenes. We did it. "More pics of the night, this gorgeous dress, stunning jewellery and amazing glam to come." Dokic's fans flooded the comments sections to congratulate the star on her success. "Congratulations to you and all involved in the production! A deserving win for such an incredible story," one person said. "Congratulations on the win and that stunning dress, looking beautiful," another person said. "Sooo well deserved," one more person said. The Croatian-born Aussie tennis star was just 16 years old when she advanced to the semifinal at Wimbledon in 2000 and reached a peak of World No. 4 in 2002. Privately, the star allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her father and coach Damir Dokic, which culminated in the player firing her father and rebooting her career. In 2009, Dokic enjoyed an unforgettable run at the Australian Open after entering the draw as a wildcard and ultimately advancing all the way to the quarter finals before retiring in 2014. In a December 2023 interview, Jelena said she has been estranged from her father for more than 10 years, and claimed he has never apologised for his alleged verbal, emotional and physical abuse. The retired tennis star's big win comes months after Dokic opened up about her weight loss journey. In March, Dokic posted a side-by-side comparison of her before-and-after weight loss, musing that she is the 'same hardworking person' regardless of her weight. 'What is the difference between the two images?' she wrote. 'Nothing except what you see on the outside, my BODY SIZE. 'I am the same hardworking person, respectful, generous, empathetic, compassionate, humble, kind, driven, strong, resilient, capable and loving person, woman and friend.'
