‘Complicated grief’: Jelena Dokic confirms death of estranged father
Damir Dokic, the notorious father of former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic, has died.
On Wednesday, Jelena Dokic confirmed her father had died in the late hours of May 16.
Former world No.4 Dokic has been open about how her controlling father physically, verbally and emotionally abused her during her childhood and playing career.
In 2023, she said she had been estranged from her Serbian father Damir for more than 10 years.
“As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history,” Dokic said in a post on Instagram, which included a photo of her with her father when she was a child.
You might like
“Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years, even non-existent, our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father, even one you are estranged from.
“The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief. It’s an end of a chapter and life as I know it.”
Dokic noted how Damir’s death had sparked “lots of conflicting and complex emotions and feelings”.
“For the end of this chapter, I choose to focus on a good memory like this picture,” she said.
Stay informed, daily
“As always and especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for, which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too.”
Dokic requested privacy for herself and her family and finished her message with “RIP”.
Jelena and Damir Dokic in 1999 after she defeated Martina Hingis at Wimbledon. Photo: AAP
Her father became a notorious and controversial figure on tour throughout his daughter’s rise from junior sensation to world No.4 and Wimbledon semi-finalist.
During Jelena’s career, Damir Dokic was renowned for his outbursts and was at one point banned from the WTA tour.
He was jailed in 2009 after he threatened to blow up the Australian ambassador to Belgrade.
Dokic, who has two books and a documentary where she detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, is a tennis pundit and commentator after retiring in 2014.
1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
Lifeline 131 114
Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491
