Jelena Dokic, the retired Australian tennis professional, went through hell during her early days. She faced abuse from her father, who wanted her to become the best professional in tennis. In her autobiography, she mentioned how her father whipped her with a leather belt over a slight drop in performance. 

Dokic has been outspoken about her trauma and never wants to see someone else face the same. Therefore, she gives her all when it comes to matters of child abuse. Speaking of which, she recently took to Instagram to denounce the Chinese father who raised his hand at his daughter for not meeting his expectations on the tennis court.

Jelena Dokic shares her thoughts about the horrible incident

A few days ago, a clip of a father thrashing his daughter went viral on social media. It was an eye-opener and shook the entire tennis fraternity, including Dokic. She wrote, “I feel sick. I threw up and I am heartbroken after watching this.”

Thereafter, she added, “You think this is brutal? It is, but it’s a normal day for a lot of us that have been or are abused, especially as children. Hitting, ear pulling, spitting in our faces, throwing us on the ground, punching and kicking us. Just another day for us and that includes this 14-year-old girl.”

“Imagine what happens behind closed doors. It’s even worse.” Tennis is a spine-breaker in terms of expenditure. Parents have to give their all to get the required facilities for their children. However, for most of them, the driving force is fame and money that awaits at the end of the tunnel.

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The entire procedure turns ugly. People get greedy and execute extreme pressure on their kids. Further, veterans such as the eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi have spoken about the same in length. With such incidents surfacing, it’s high time to analyze the ways of tennis in depth.

Dokic’s tennis career

Dokic carrying the weight of her father’s expectations turned pro in the year 1998. The Aussie entered the highly demanding sport with mental scars and still managed to execute a noteworthy run.

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In just four years of her debut, she rose to the ranking of World No 4. The Aussie, with the help of her semifinal run in the Wimbledon and quarterfinals run in the clay-based French Open, secured the spot in WTA. Dokic, in her 16-year-long career, claimed a total of six singles and four doubles titles. Also, she helped her nation win the Hopman Cup of the year 1999.