Jelena Dokić is a former Australian tennis player who dazzled audiences on the courts years ago. In 2014, she decided to retire from professional sports. Soon after, she faced challenges brought on by this life change.
I couldn’t cope with the fact that it all suddenly ended. Tennis was my whole life. Training, traveling, competitions - all of it was gone. I didn’t know what to do with my life. I wanted to eat away my sorrows
- the star explained.
She Faced a Wave of Hate for Her Weight. Did Jelena Dokić Shut Down the Critics?
The Australian star began to struggle with weight gain. By October 2018, Jelena Dokić weighed 120 kilograms. On social media, she faced hate from users who insulted her because of her weight. "What happened to make you so fat?" - they often wrote. The former tennis player didn’t stay indifferent to the comments and posted a lengthy message on Instagram, addressing her critics.
I’ll tell you what happened. I’m looking for ways, I’m fighting. But it really doesn’t matter what happened because size shouldn’t matter. Kindness and being a good person matter. What matters is your online abuse, bullying, and fat-shaming. That’s what counts. Because those of you doing this are simply bad, mean, ignorant people. I can get into better shape for myself and my health, but you won’t become a better person. Weight changes, but bad people stay bad.
The Tennis Star Endured a Great Tragedy as a Teenager: She Was Abused by Her Father
In her book Unbreakable, Jelena Dokić revealed not only the behind-the-scenes of her sports career but also shared intimate details about her childhood and adolescence. The Australian disclosed that until the age of 19, she was abused by her father, Damir. He reportedly humiliated and insulted her. Years of psychological and physical abuse led her to have suicidal thoughts as a teenager.
My story as a child needs to be heard, and I want as many people as possible to know about it. I felt like I was always misunderstood, and it’s time for people to know the real me. It was hard to survive all those experiences. I suffered from depression for nearly 10 years, and I came close to committing suicide
- Dokić said, as quoted by "The Sun".
