By Daily Sports on November 27, 2017

Former world number four, Jelena Dokic has attributed her successes during her 16-year tennis career to a heavy personal price which came with heavy burden she had to put up with especially from the hands of her father.

The Yugoslavia-born Australian was once ranked fourth in the world, and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2000, but she claims she suffered years of mental and physical abuse from her father Damir, who coached her from an early age.

Dokic, 34, who is now a coach, made the revelation in her book in which she alleged she was whipped with a leather belt and kicked in the shins if she did not train well, and that she was regularly left bruised and bloodied.

'I hid in the players' lounge after Wimbledon'

Dokic had a normal relationship with her father until she started playing tennis at the age of six. Then almost immediately the verbal, emotional and physical abuse started. But despite it all, she managed to establish herself in the professional ranks and beat world number one Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999, aged 16, and reached the semi-finals in 2000. She lost to Lindsay Davenport in the last four.

“That should have been one of the great highlights, but after the match my father thought I was a disgrace and an embarrassment and didn't allow me to come back to the hotel,” she said.

“I had to stay at Wimbledon in the players' lounge that afternoon and that evening and try to sleep there. I hid on a couch hoping no-one was going to find me, but the cleaners did at 11pm. The referee was called and I had to find somewhere else to sleep for the night - no money, no credit card, nothing.”

•Photo shows Jelena Dokic.

Source Daily Sports

Posted November 27, 2017

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