Jelena Dokic’s Unwavering Desire to Success

During my attendance at AIME, where Jelena was a keynote speaker for the Resilience and Perseverance session, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jelena for fifteen minutes to learn how she gained the resilience to endure the hardship of her struggle with her father. 

Jelena Dokic’s tale, both on and off the court, is nothing less than incredible. She is a former world number four, a prominent tennis commentator, and the best-selling author of the book ‘Unbreakable.’

At the age of 16, she reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, a meteoric leap in the tennis world. Jelena Dokic fought opponents with the same steely nerve she used to fight poverty and racism, bullying, discrimination, injury, and depression, as well as the greatest battle of her life: the physical and emotional abuse she endured for over 20 years at the hands of her oppressive father and coach.

The tale of Jelena’s bravery has attracted a vast global audience. You will be amazed by her unfiltered candour. You will be astounded by her ability to escape the grips of darkness. You will be most inspired by Jelena Dokic’s will to survive.

After swiftly fleeing Croatia and landing in Serbia as a refugee, Jelena learnt to read and write the language and mastered the foreign script in a matter of weeks.

Her first experience as a refugee was the eight-year-old flight to Serbia. She became a refugee for the second time when she moved to Australia at age 11.

Dokic, a prodigal talent, had been playing tennis against females far older than her since she was six and winning.

Her father, Damir Dokic, abused her verbally and physically from the beginning of her tennis career, regardless of her success. Up to the conclusion of her career, Dokic’s tennis and her father’s abuse went hand-in-hand.

What fuelled your drive to keep going and achieve your goals?

In the end, I was able to accomplish what was most important to me because of my perseverance. I was determined to prevail and make it through; I think having a positive mindset is essential no matter what challenges life throws at you. My confidence in my ability to succeed in court began at an early age, and it has never wavered.

No matter what it is, whether it’s a tennis match I’m playing in or something in life, you always have to continue fighting till the end, and if you succeed, great; if you don’t, at least you know you’ve given it 100%, and that’s what matters. I don’t think we have time to build a lot of character; I think you made resilience and the mindset of never giving up instead.

I had faith in my abilities as a tennis player and, you know, in my abilities as a human in general to help me get through the bad patches. Better alternatives are accessible to me. You need to have faith in yourself; if you don’t, you’re not off to a good start in life. I loved life and didn’t want to give up.

Throughout your path to achievement, what feeling did you feel most often?

One feeling that never fades and strengthens me is the knowledge that dread is inevitable, whether on the tennis court or in life. This holds true regardless of the magnitude of the challenge I’m facing. For me, I believe I’ve always just dealt with things head-on.

That’s how I played tennis, with full passion and determination, and nobody ever cared about it. In the end, it doesn’t matter how many times you fall as long as you get back up, because each time you do, you gain valuable experience and insight.

Both life and tennis are filled with defeats, but each setback is an opportunity to improve your game. That’s the optimal approach, but I figured that in the end, all that counts is that you did your best, so I decided to give it my all no matter what.

Considering your troubled past with your father and your obvious tennis talent, what would you say is your proudest achievement to date?

Throughout my life, I’ve experienced a variety of phases. Indeed, I am pleased of my accomplishments at such a high level in a professional sport. Yet, it has been even more crucial to my success outside of tennis. It’s a big deal that you’re out there attempting to make a difference, bringing attention to situations that can save lives and change people’s lives.

I’m very proud of being able to go out into the world and tell my story, and I think it’s what I’ll be remembered for most. I’ve had a lot of success as an advocate for people who don’t feel like they have a voice, including those dealing with mental illness, domestic violence, and bullying.

Do you have any advice for those who are currently experiencing anything similar?

It takes time to recover from trauma, and the healing process isn’t beautiful. I believe individuals go through cycles of sadness and anxiety.

Sometimes I worry that everyone, as I once remarked on stage, would only ever live in a world “where we perceive everything as flowers and rainbows,” but in reality, life is everything but rosy. Life may be difficult for anybody at any moment. You will encounter difficulties and grief, some more profound than others, and you must accept that there is often no turning back.

No matter what challenges you face, you must always go forwards. You’re going to have to accept it, but you may emerge from this experience as either stronger, different, or wiser. Someone with greater life experience, yet still learning the hard way. I sent it out a long time ago, and now I wish I could go back in time and prevent this from happening since someone else might have gone years ago. The amount was negligible.

I didn’t know that these experiences are essential to the healing process of acceptance. Certainly, this experience will alter you and your life, but those changes need not be for the better or worse.

There is always a silver lining to every cloud.