Jelena Dokic

Jelena Dokic (Јелена Докић; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis commentator, studio analyst and former professional player.

Her family lived in Osijek until June 1991 when, due to the instability of the breakup of Yugoslavia, they settled in Sombor, Serbia, for a short time before emigrating to Australia in 1994 when Dokić was 11 years of age.

There they lived in Fairfield, a suburb of Sydney, where Dokić (later Dokic) attended Fairfield High School.

She has spoken of growing up in poverty, and at one time (after the family left Croatia for Serbia) they lived in a Shed infested with rats.

In 1998, she won the US Open girls singles title and the French Open doubles with Kim Clijsters, ending the season ranked world No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation junior singles rankings and world No. 7 in doubles.

She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.

Dokic started the year by teaming up with Mark Philippoussis to win the Hopman Cup title.

In the 1999 Wimbledon Championships the 16-year-old Dokic achieved one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, beating Martina Hingis 6–2, 6–0.

This remains the only time the women's world No. 1 has ever lost to a qualifier at Wimbledon.

Dokic went on to reach the quarterfinals of that competition, only her second Grand Slam championship.

Dokic rapidly ascended through the world rankings after her Wimbledon breakthrough, but her time in the world elite was beset by off-court struggles.

During 1999, she jumped 298 spots, finishing the year at world No. 43.

Her relationship with her outspoken father and coach Damir Dokić, on whose advice she switched allegiance to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in November 2000, was the subject of much media speculation over many years.

Dokic was defeated in the first round of the 2000 Australian Open by Rita Kuti-Kis of Hungary.

After the match, Dokic said, "I lost to a player who has never been a player and, I guess, probably never will be."

During the spring clay court season, Dokic reached the quarterfinals of the Tier I events in Hilton Head, South Carolina and Rome (upsetting Venus Williams en route), as well as earning Fed Cup victories over Kim Clijsters, Anna Kournikova and Sandrine Testud, respectively.

However, Dokic lost in the second round at the French Open.

Dokic's successes at Wimbledon continued; she lost in the semifinals to Lindsay Davenport.

She reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost to Serena Williams after holding two set points in the first-set tiebreaker.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics, representing Australia, she lost to Monica Seles in the bronze medal match.

In doubles, she teamed with Rennae Stubbs, but lost in the second round.

Dokic finished the year at world No. 26.

Beginning with the Australian Open, she began playing for Yugoslavia.

Her father, Damir, claimed irregularities in the draw after her first-round loss to Lindsay Davenport and was banned from the tournament due to abusive behaviour.

Damir later said, "I think the draw is fixed just for her".

After the Australian Open, her family moved to the United States.

In May, she won her first singles title in the Rome Masters, defeating Amélie Mauresmo in the final 7–6, 6–1.

Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002.

She won WTA Tour events on all surfaces during her career.

She switched back to Australia in 2005, and accused her father of physical and mental abuse in her 2017 autobiography Unbreakable.

Dokic made a serious return to tennis in 2008 and finished 2009 back in the world top 100, but thereafter struggled badly with form and injuries, and ceased playing professionally in 2014.

Jelena Dokić was born in Osijek, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Serb father, Damir Dokić, and a Croat mother, Ljiljana (née Podnar).

She has a younger brother, Savo, eight years her junior.

Until 2016, it was Australia's lone victory at the event.

She then received a wildcard into the Australian Open, losing to world No. 1 Martina Hingis in two sets.

At Wimbledon, Dokic made her professional breakthrough.

As a qualifier, Dokic caused an upset, defeating world No. 1 Hingis in the first round in straight sets.

Ranked No. 129 at the time, she was the lowest-ranked player to have defeated the top seed in a Grand Slam tournament during the Open era.

She also defeated ninth-seeded Mary Pierce in straight sets before losing in three to Alexandra Stevenson in the quarterfinals.

Dokic also reached her first WTA doubles final with Amanda Coetzer in Tokyo.