Jelena Dokic, a former Australian tennis player, has responded to online trolls who have fat shamed her during the Australian Open, glamsquad reports.
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Dokic, who is working as a sports commentator for CNN affiliate 9 at the event, said in an Instagram post on Monday morning, January 23, that the “‘body shaming’ and ‘fat shaming’” she had received in the previous 24 hours was “disgusting.”
“The most common question is, ‘what happened to her, she’s so big?’” Dokic put pen to paper.
“I’ll tell you what happened; I’m finding a way to survive and fight. And it doesn’t really matter what I’m doing or what happened because size shouldn’t be a factor.”
Dokic retired in 2014 after reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals at the age of 16 in 1999. A year later, she reached the Wimbledon final four.
She represented Australia at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and she also reached the Wimbledon semifinals. Her world ranking peaked at No. 4 after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 French Open.
But Dokic’s success came at a high price, as she revealed in her autobiography, “Unbreakable,” which was released in 2018.
Dokic describes the physical, verbal, and mental abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of her father and former coach, Damar Dokic, in her book.
Dokic said she ended her relationship with her father in 2002, leaving “in the middle of the night” with only her racquet bag and a suitcase.
Dokic’s father did not respond to the allegations when the book was published, but he did tell the Serbian daily Blic in 2009 that “there is no child who was not beaten by parents, same with Jelena.”
Bullies will not silence the former tennis player, she says in recent Instagram posts.
“I’m here to fight for all those out there who are being abused and fat shamed,” she said.
“I can’t change the world, but I’m going to keep speaking up, calling this behavior out, and using my platform for good, to support other people out there, to give others a voice, and to try to make others feel less alone and scared.”
Dokic has previously spoken about her struggles with mental health. Last June, she revealed in an Instagram . that she was on the verge of suicide and that professional help had saved her.
