Former Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic revealed on Monday that she almost committed suicide a few weeks ago by throwing herself off a balcony.
The 39-year-old, who ranked fourth in the world rankings in 2002, wrote a long and touching Instagram post with a crying selfie.
Dokic, who appeared at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament, in 1999 when, at the age of sixteen, she scored one of her biggest surprises by knocking out then No. did not kill her on 28 April.
She wrote: “I almost jumped off the balcony from the 26th floor and committed suicide. I will never forget this day.” “Everything is blurry. Everything is dark. No tone, no image, nothing makes sense…only tears, sadness, depression, anxiety and pain.”
The player, born to a Serbian father and a Croatian mother, added: “The last six months have been tough. I was crying everywhere. I would hide in the bathroom at my workplace and wipe away my tears so that no one would see the constant crying at home.” During her professional career, Dokic won six singles titles and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2000.
But she struggled for years to get out of the negative influence of Damir’s father on her life, accusing him of abusing her, which led to her dropping below 600 in the rankings. Her father was banned from the All England Club, which oversees Wimbledon, at the time his daughter was allegedly kidnapped.
Dokic, who has worked as a TV commentator since retiring in 2014, is now encouraging people who also have psychological issues to seek help. “Going to the experts saved my life. I am writing this because I know that I am not the only one suffering. Just know that you are not alone.” “I wouldn’t say I’m better now, but I’m definitely on my way to recovery… I’ll be back stronger than ever,” she added.
