- Retired tennis player Jelena Dokic has salty memories about 2022
- She is one of the famous athletes who have attempted to take away their lives due to a mix of issues
- Dokic found herself on the edge of her 26th-floor balcony, contemplating suicide
Retired tennis player Jelena Dokic has salty memories about 2022, the year suicide thoughts nearly took her away.
She is one of the famous athletes who have attempted to take away their lives due to a mix of issues. For the Australian, she grappled with childhood trauma, and tennis stress that it all took a toll on her.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO JELENA DOKIC?
On April 28th, 2022, Dokic found herself on the edge of her 26th-floor balcony, contemplating suicide. That day remains etched into her memory with a blur of darkness and despair. She felt sad, depressed, anxious, and pain engulfed her which left her feeling lost and unworthy of love.
She narrated on her Instagram post that in the six months leading up to April 2022, she was in untold anguish, crying everywhere, from work to home. Despite knowing that she had so much to be grateful for, Dokic struggled with feelings of guilt for not appreciating what she already had. It was a vicious cycle in her mind that led her to the brink of ending it all through suicide by jumping off her balcony.
Former Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic. Photo/San Diego UNion Tribune
However, she managed to pull herself away from the edge, and her life changed after this incident because she sought help. The former world No 4 noted that sharing such deeply personal experiences is not easy, but she is a firm believer in being open, honest, and vulnerable with others.
One thing her healing process taught her is that some days are better than others, with setbacks but her resolute nature saw her cross over to the other side. It also taught her the value of self-worth which is her strongest pillar to date.
“I’ve come to understand that it’s okay to feel what I’m feeling. I don’t need to be ashamed of my emotions. I’m learning that it’s okay to feel sadness as long as I keep fighting and working to come back from it. I share this message of hope with others, assuring them that they can also find their way back to a better place, just as I’m striving to do.
To all those going through tough times, remember that you are not alone. I love you all, and together, we’ll fight and survive to see brighter days. I have faith that I will come back stronger than ever,” she concluded her long post.
WHY DID JELENA DOKIC RETIRE?
A while after overcoming suicidal thoughts, she was in pretty bad form physically and it pushed her to retire. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist hang her tennis boots in 2014 citing recurring injuries and a weak mental state that made it hard for her to keep playing tennis at a competitive level.
Dokic never had it easy with tennis from the start. She opened up for the first time in 2022 about how she was subjected to physical abuse when she was 16 years old. Rogue fans assaulted her and these memories never leave her mind.
WHAT YEAR DID JELENA DOKIC RETIRE?
Tennis Commentator and former tennis player Jelena Dokic. PHoto/People
After reaching numerous career highs, including the semifinals of Wimbledon at the age of 16 in 1999, Dokic retired in 2014. She reached Wimbledon’s final four a year later.
She competed for Australia in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals. After making it to the quarterfinals of the 2002 French Open, her world ranking peaked at No. 4. However, as Dokic revealed in her 2018 autobiography, “Unbreakable,” her on-court triumph came at a steep price.
Over and above the pressure that comes with tennis, she had childhood wounds courtesy of her father. Her father subjected her to inhumane treatment growing up which included violence and the aftermath of it was trauma into adulthood. It adversely affected her life. Cyberbullying and body shaming also made things harder for her until 2014 when she left the stage.
Much as she was seeking help from a psychologist, there was a part of her that couldn’t handle all this. Therefore, her exit in 2014 relieved her of a huge burden as she carved a new path as a tennis commentator. She also took time to transform her physique and she couldn’t feel any better today.
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