This is the story of Jelena Dokie's survival. How she survived as a refugee, twice. How she survived on the tennis court to become world No. 4. But, most importantly, how she survived the brutality of her father, Damir Dokic, the tennis dad from hell.
Jelena was a prodigious talent, heralded as Australia's greatest tennis hope since Evonne Goolagong. She had exceptional skills, a steely nerve and an extraordinary ability to fight on the court. Off it she endured huge challenges: being an
'outsider in her new country, poverty and racism. Still, aged eighteen she was in the women's top 10 and the world was charmed by her and her story.
But she carried a terrible secret. From the moment she'd struck a tennis ball at age six, her father had hit her. And the bigger her tennis star grew, the more he lost his mind - privately and very publicly.
Jelena has not told a soul her story in full - until now.
From war-torn Yugoslavia to Sydney to Wimbledon, she narrates her hellish ascent to becoming one of the world's best tennis players, and her heart-breaking fall from the top. Her gutsy honesty will leave you in awe. Her fight back from darkness and on to the tennis tour will uplift you. Most of all Jelena's will to survive will inspire you.