Dokic says dad physically, verbally, emotionally abused her
SYDNEY: Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic says her father physically, verbally and emotionally abused her from a young age when she started playing tennis.
In an autobiography to be released this week, the 34-year-old Dokic says that Damir Dokic, who also was her coach, regularly beat her, pulled her hair and ears, kicked her and even spat in her face. She said her father also frequently directed vile insults toward her.
“He beat me really badly,” the former No. 4-ranked Dokic was quoted as saying in Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph.
“It basically started day one of me playing tennis. It continued on from there. It spiralled out of control.”
After losing to Lindsay Davenport in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2000, at the age of 17, Dokic said her father refused to acknowledge her following the match and when she finally reached him on the telephone, he told her not to return to the hotel where the family was staying.
She said she was distressed and attempted to sleep in the player area at Wimbledon, before officials contacted her agents and arranged for her stay with them.
Excerpts from the book and a video interview published in Australian newspapers generated wide debate about how the situation was allowed to continue throughout Dokic’s teenage years.
Tennis Australia released a statement praising Dokic’s courage in exposing the abuse, and responded to local media questions about why it didn’t intervene by saying an official had taken the matter to the authorities.
“There were many in tennis at the time who were concerned for Jelena’s welfare, and many who tried to assist with what was a difficult family situation,” Tennis Australia’s statement said.
“Some officials even went as far as lodging police complaints, which without cooperation from those directly involved, unfortunately could not be fully investigated.”
Damir Dokic is living in Serbia and had no comment for Australian media regarding the book. Dokic started playing tennis at age eight.
Her family migrated in 1994 from Europe to Australia, where Jelena trained in Sydney under her father’s coaching.
In 1998, she won the US Open junior title and played Fed Cup for Australia, and in 1989 she beat Martina Hingis in the opening round of Wimbledon, becoming the lowest-ranked player in the Open era to beat a top seed at a Grand Slam.
She switched allegiances at her father’s insistence to represent Serbia in 2001, following allegations by her father that the draw for the 2001 Australian Open was rigged against her.
But she returned to represent Australia from 2006.
After reaching a career-high No. 4 ranking in 2002, Dokic’s ranking slipped into the 600s as she struggled with injuries and depression.
She retired in 2012 with five titles in the top tier of women’s tennis, but having never surpassed her 2000 success in a major.
Dokic has been quoted as saying the physical violence was regular from her father but she struggled most with the emotional element of the relationship.
“Not just the physical pain but the emotional ... that was the one that hurt me the most,” she said.
“When you are 11, 12 years old and hear all those nasty things ... that was more difficult for me.” — AP