Tennis: Jelena Dokic Has Been To Hell And Back
January 22nd 2009 13:57
Jelena Dokic bared her heart on Monday, struggling with tears as she told of the anguish of being banished by her family and the depression that followed. "It was a tough time in my life. I had a lot to go through, a lot of family issues. I went through hell and back," the 25-year-old said as tears welled in her eyes.
Her battle with depression reached its peak as recently as 2007.
"I was really struggling with everything: with my weight, with my mental state, with everything," she said.
Just four years earlier the young Serbian Australian had the tennis world at her feet. She was ranked world No. 4 and, seemingly, even greater fame beckoned.
But her world fell apart.
Public battles with her domineering father Damir, who was famously ejected from Wimbledon, among other indignities, took their toll.
She walked out on Damir, thus splitting with the rest of her family and starting a spiral into depression.
The star became an also-ran. She wasn't to win another match at a grand slam tournament for almost six years, until now.
"It's really a miracle for me. It's really emotional to win today," Dokic said after outlasting Austrian Tamira Paszek 6-2 3-6 6-4.
"What I had to go through, it's really great to have this win. I don't think a lot of people know what it means to me."
In her time in the wilderness, Dokic didn't pick up a racquet for months at a time, struggling to come to grips with being banished by her entire family.
Asked if she had mended her relationship with her father, Dokic said: "No. I don't talk to my father. I haven't for years. I talk to my mum (Liliana). We're mending that relationship. As soon as I left home, my relationship went down the hill with my dad.
"It went down the hill with my whole family.
"The biggest thing I regret is my brother (Savo), who is eight years younger than me. I didn't have contact with him for years until the last 12 months. That was the hardest thing to deal with.
"But, yeah, I still feel like I've lost them. I will try my best, you know, to patch up things with my brother and my mum. But it's not just that. I had so much to go through while my dad was on the tour. I was just so young and just had no real idea what was going on.
"But it was real difficult to take all that, what was going on off the court, all the outbursts. I played with a huge pressure on my shoulders. I kind of just cracked by the time I was 19 already."
Dokic credited boyfriend Tin Bikic with keeping her on track.
"I'm trying to mend the relationship with my brother and my mum. But my boyfriend was there. We've been together for six years. He was there with me," she said.
Dokic is confident she has emerged from her time in hell.
"I think it's over. I think I dealt with everything. You know, I'm really enjoying my tennis. It doesn't really have anything to do with ranking, money or anything. I just really love the game.
"I dealt with so much off the court, that this is a joke to me now."
Herald Sun
Her battle with depression reached its peak as recently as 2007.
"I was really struggling with everything: with my weight, with my mental state, with everything," she said.
Just four years earlier the young Serbian Australian had the tennis world at her feet. She was ranked world No. 4 and, seemingly, even greater fame beckoned.
But her world fell apart.
Public battles with her domineering father Damir, who was famously ejected from Wimbledon, among other indignities, took their toll.
She walked out on Damir, thus splitting with the rest of her family and starting a spiral into depression.
The star became an also-ran. She wasn't to win another match at a grand slam tournament for almost six years, until now.
"It's really a miracle for me. It's really emotional to win today," Dokic said after outlasting Austrian Tamira Paszek 6-2 3-6 6-4.
"What I had to go through, it's really great to have this win. I don't think a lot of people know what it means to me."
In her time in the wilderness, Dokic didn't pick up a racquet for months at a time, struggling to come to grips with being banished by her entire family.
Asked if she had mended her relationship with her father, Dokic said: "No. I don't talk to my father. I haven't for years. I talk to my mum (Liliana). We're mending that relationship. As soon as I left home, my relationship went down the hill with my dad.
"It went down the hill with my whole family.
"The biggest thing I regret is my brother (Savo), who is eight years younger than me. I didn't have contact with him for years until the last 12 months. That was the hardest thing to deal with.
"But, yeah, I still feel like I've lost them. I will try my best, you know, to patch up things with my brother and my mum. But it's not just that. I had so much to go through while my dad was on the tour. I was just so young and just had no real idea what was going on.
"But it was real difficult to take all that, what was going on off the court, all the outbursts. I played with a huge pressure on my shoulders. I kind of just cracked by the time I was 19 already."
Dokic credited boyfriend Tin Bikic with keeping her on track.
"I'm trying to mend the relationship with my brother and my mum. But my boyfriend was there. We've been together for six years. He was there with me," she said.
Dokic is confident she has emerged from her time in hell.
"I think it's over. I think I dealt with everything. You know, I'm really enjoying my tennis. It doesn't really have anything to do with ranking, money or anything. I just really love the game.
"I dealt with so much off the court, that this is a joke to me now."
Herald Sun
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