Brisbane, Australia
CNN
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Former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic has hit back at online trolls, saying she was bombarded with negative comments about her body at the Australian Open.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Dokic, who is serving as a commentator for CNN affiliate 9 at the event, said the “‘body shaming’ and ‘fat shaming'” she received over the past 24 hours was “disgusting”. .
“The most common comment is ‘what happened to her, she’s so big’?” Dokic wrote. “I’ll tell you what happened, I’m going to find a way and survive and fight. And it doesn’t really matter what I do and what happened because size shouldn’t matter.”
Dokic retired in 2014, after reaching many career highs. 1999 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, just 16 years old, A year later, she made it to the last four at Wimbledon.
In 2000, she represented Australia at the Sydney Olympics, and also reached the Wimbledon semifinals. His world ranking rose to No. 4 after reaching the 2002 French Open quarterfinals.
But Dokic’s on-court success came at a heavy price, as he revealed in his autobiography, “Unbreakable,” first published in 2018.
In the book, Dokic details the physical, verbal and mental abuse she says she suffered at the hands of her father and former coach, Damar Dokic.
Dokic broke up with her father in 2002, leaving in the middle of the night with her racket bag and a suitcase.
When the book was released, Dokic’s father did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. He told the Serbian daily Blik in 2009 that “there is no such child who is not beaten by the parents, same with Jelena.”
In a recent post on Instagram, the former tennis player says she will not be silenced by bullies.
“I’m here, fighting for all those who are being abused out there, shamed thickly,” she said. “I can’t change the world, but I will continue to speak out, call out this behavior, use my platform to do some good and support other people and give a voice to others and help others feel less alone.” trying to try to do.” scared.”
Dokic has spoken about his struggles with his mental health in the past. Last June, in a video posted to InstagramShe revealed that she came close to taking her own life and said that getting professional help saved her.