Damir Dokic, controversial father of tennis star Jelena Dokic, dies at 66

Damir Dokic, the controversial father of former tennis star Jelena Dokic, passed away on May 16 at the age of 66. The news was confirmed by both Jelena and her brother Savo. According to Novosti, the funeral will take place in the Serbian village of Vrdnik on May 22.

Damir Dokic has long been absent from public life. Jelena has long revealed all the details about the psychological and physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. In her autobiography, “Unbreakable,” she detailed the violence she endured, including being beaten with a thick leather belt that “felt as sharp as a knife.” A mediocre training session, a loss, a bad mood — anything could trigger her father to slice her skin with his dreadful belt.

Two years ago, the Serbian-born Australian shared a photo from the 2000 US Open, drawing attention to the evident signs of trauma on her legs even though the photo was taken two weeks after the beating had happened. She wrote, “Swollen, bruised and bleeding shins from being beaten and kicked all night with sharp shoes right into my shins for losing a match.” She was only 17 years old at the time.

In 2022, Jelena tried to take her own life, saying “I just wanted the pain and the suffering to stop.” In her latest social media post, published just two hours ago, the 42-year-old shared one of her many introspective, emotional messages, saying: “Healing and feeing worthy doesn’t come from forgetting the past but instead turning pain into power and reclaiming your voice, worth and life.”