Jelena Dokic: Former tennis star slams trolls over offensive posts about her body at the Australian Open
Brisbane, Australia
CNN
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Former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic has hit back at online trolls, saying she was bombarded with negative comments about her body at the Australian Open.
In an Instagram post Monday, Dokic, who is working as a commentator for CNN affiliate 9 at the event, said the “‘body shaming’ and ‘fat shaming'” she received in the past 24 hours was disgusting.
“The most common comment is ‘what happened to her, she’s so big’?” Dokic wrote. “I’ll tell you what happened, I’m finding a way and surviving and fighting. And it doesn’t really matter what I’m doing and what happened because size doesn’t matter. ”
After several career highs, including reaching the 1999 Wimbledon quarter-final, aged just 16. A year later, he made the last four at Wimbledon.
In 2000, she represented Australia at the Sydney Olympics, and also reached the Wimbledon semifinals. After reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 French Open, her world ranking rose to No. 4.
But Dokic’s on-court success came at a price, as he revealed in his autobiography, “Unbreakable,” first published in 2018.
In the book, Dokic details the physical, verbal and mental abuse she says she suffered at the hands of her father and former coach, Damar Dokic.
He said Dokic broke up with his father in 2002, leaving “in the middle of the night” with just his racket bag and a suitcase.
When the book was released, Dokic’s father did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. He told the Serbian daily Blic in 2009 that “there is no child who has not been beaten by the parents, even with Jelena.”
In recent posts on Instagram, the former tennis player said she will not be silenced by bullies.
“I am here, fighting for all those who are being mistreated, shame,” she said. “I can’t change the world but I will continue to speak out, put this behavior out there, use my platform to do something good and support other people out there and try to give others a voice and others who feel alone. Will continue for and scared.”
Dokic has spoken about his struggles with his mental health in the past. Last June, in a video posted on Instagram, she revealed that she came close to taking her own life and said that seeking professional help saved her.
