UNBREAKABLE: THE JELENA DOKIC STORY

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Set against the secretly brutal backdrop of professional tennis, Unbreakable is an intensely personal exploration of coercive control and family violence through the eyes of former women’s world number

four Jelena Dokic.

It’s a story about growing up – never alone, but always lonely. About a child prodigy’s need for parental love and the devastating impact of realising that nothing will ever be good enough for a violent father, staking his entire future on his daughter’s success.

Jelena Dokic was the superstar refugee child who fled the Balkan wars and settled in Australia. At age 16 she demolished world No.1 Martina Hingis at Wimbledon. Her adopted country’s hunger for that

kind of sporting success helped turn a blind eye to the abuse at the hands of her father and often coach Damir.

Treated like an amusing buffoon – rather than the dangerous menace that he was – stories about Damir made headlines, sold newspapers and guaranteed eyeballs. But away from view, the media circus only added to Jelena’s isolation and trauma. In the midst of the mayhem – which included Damir getting expelled from the US Open, being kicked out of Wimbledon and a six month ban imposed by the WTA, it seemed too few had actual concerns for the teenager who bore the brunt of his wrath.

Unbreakable tells two stories: one is how Jelena saw the world, detailed in the rawest description of long term abuse in sport; the other is how the world saw Jelena and her dad. For the first time some of the biggest names in tennis - including former World No.1 Lindsay

Davenport - emotionally speak out about abuse on the tour and what they heard and saw happen to Jelena.

American tennis star turned commentator Pam Shriver is severely critical in her observations. The question is: why were responses so lacking? And that is still relevant today. In 2022 another tennis

star, Victoria Azarenka, spoke as a representative of the WTA Players Council and declared that the council regards the safeguarding of young women in tennis their number one priority.

Till this day, Jelena remains a lone voice in speaking out. What is perhaps most astonishing of all, is that despite the ordeal she suffered, she managed to make it to the top, and after the inevitable

downfall, managed to regain control of her narrative and life.