Aussie tennis great Jelena Dokic has delivered a harsh truth after the tennis world was left horrified by a video of a 14-year-old player being assaulted by her father.
The video showed graphic footage of the tennis player being kicked and slapped by the male before being thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly.
Anti-violence advocate Igor Juric posted the video, which had been sent to him by a source, and said he believed the incident was a result of a poor training session.
The video quickly drew shock and horror from across the world as tennis stars past and present blasted the horrific scene.
Warning: Disturbing imagery
Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs on Sunday announced a Chinese citizen had been arrested over the incident.
“After a video of him (allegedly) beating his 14-year-old daughter appeared in the media, the police immediately took all measures and actions within their jurisdiction and quickly identified the suspect,” it said in a translated statement.
“(The man) was ordered to be detained for up to 48 hours and he will be brought to the First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade with a criminal report.”
But former World No. 4 turned tennis commentator Dokic, who has spoken openly about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father Damir during her career, said the cycle of abuse meant this would not have been an isolated incident.
“I feel sick, I threw up and I am heartbroken after watching this,” Dokic posted on Instagram. “You think this is brutal?
“It is but it’s a normal day for a lot of us that have been or are abused especially as children. Hitting, ear pulling, spitting in our faces, throwing us on the ground, punching and kicking us. Just another day for us and that includes this 14 year old girl.
“Imagine what happens behind closed doors. It’s even worse.
“This is exactly why I spoke up about this and wrote about it.
“I always said I am not the first or the last to go through this but my question now is have things changed in the way our sport and society deals with this?
“I am glad this monster was caught on video but people are watching this and not doing anything until he started kicking her on the floor. Also, the media needs to do more.
“Talk about this more. Our sport and players especially the ones that have a large platform need to raise awareness around this.
“And clubs, federations, governing bodies need to do their part. This is where they now need to step up.
“The question is whether enough is being done even just raising awareness about this.
“All the journalists around the world and all of you on your Twitter profiles who love all the stories and gossip, how about this?
“Are some players playing a grand slam or not or are they dating each other? Who cares. How about this poor girl? Who will talk about her and protect her?
“I will tell you from personal experience. Nobody.
“I just hope that this time around someone will help because she is scared and broken and she will be traumatized forever.
“Come on everyone, media, social media, players, ex players, journalists …. please share this, talk about this, post it, repost it.
“It’s tough to watch? Yes but don’t forget that the reality of what goes on behind closed doors is even more brutal.
“Because don’t forget not everyone survives this and lives are lost because of this type of behavior that we don’t talk about enough. Some don’t survive, some are killed and some take their own lives.
“You just don’t hear about it. So it’s time to make some noise.”
Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou commented on Dokic’s post, replying: “Horribly disgusting. I agree 100% Jelena. This man has to go to jail. This is where he belongs. This has nothing to do with tennis but with sick people who destroy their children’s life because they are mentally sick. You have been very courageous to speak up and write a book on what you have been through.”
Dokic revealed the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her father during her tennis career in her book “Unbreakable.”
She revealed she suffered regular beatings with a belt or a hard-capped boot, including one incident which saw her knocked unconscious.
She wrote that Tennis Australia had reported concerns about Dokic’s welfare at the time.
Dokic wrote in the book: “A mediocre training session, a loss, a bad mood — any of these trigger him to bring out the belt. My losing particularly sends my father into a rage. I rarely lose but when I do the consequence is brutal,” Dokic and Halloran wrote in “Unbreakable.”
“Then he tells me to take off my shirt. It hurts a lot less when you have your shirt on and that’s why he makes me take it off. I stand in my bra, my back to him, and he orders me not to move as he hits me. Often he almost slices my skin with the belt.”
She also said in a 2017 interview with “The Project” the constant abuse became “normal”.
“You get to a stage after that happening for a couple of years where it’s just your everyday life and you accept it as being, let’s say normal,” Dokic said.
“That’s what my life was about, that’s what I had to deal with literally on a day-to-day basis.
“There was always something even if it at times wasn’t physical, which was very rare, it was emotional. There was always something that I didn’t do right.”
