FACTOIDS
Full Name: Jelena Dokic
Nickname: Jelena
Birthday: April 12, 1983
Height: 5’9”
Hometown: Osijek, Croatia
Sports: Tennis
PROFILE
In late November 2006 Serbian press (mainly tabloids) reported her "mysterious disappearance" in Zagreb and that Dokic was "allegedly missing". An Australian news website[2] ran a piece about this which was then carried by other sites including Eurosport.[2] Damir Dokic, Jelena's controversial father had reported Jelena missing with Serbian police and claimed that Jelena "had been kidnapped" by her boyfriend, Tin Bikic. Her German coach Martin Ruftner added fuel to the fire by claiming he had been scheduled to meet Jelena at the Munich Airport on Sunday, 19th November but she did not show and did not call, which Ruftner claimed was "totally out of character" for Jelena.
Jelena Dokic slammed these allegations stating in Serbian sports daily Sportski žurnal that this was nothing but nonsense and that she was alive and well in Zagreb with her boyfriend and that she would soon be back at Nikola Pilic's Academy in Munich for a further 7 weeks of training before attempting a full-scale comeback on the ITF circuit in 2007.[3] She also stated that she was no longer speaking with her father and hadn't been for some time.[4]
In her interview she said she would not play in the Australian Open because she wasn't ready, and her aim was to get back into the top 30. Shortly after, Jelena left the academy. She was due to sign a contract to be in the academy for a year, but she instead returned to Borna Bikic, her coach. Jelena said she was not satisfied with the contract Pilic's Academy offered her.
Jelena withdrew from events in Stuttgart, Caprioli and Ortisei, Biberach and Buchen. [citation needed] She then lost early in the $10,000 events of Rome Real and Rome Panda to low-ranked players. Jelena then continued to withdraw from events, allegedly due to a wrist injury which had been troubling her for some time. Back in Australia on October 17, Dokic released a statement through Tennis Australia, that she would be using their facilities in an attempt to make a succesful comeback[5]. She said that she had not felt "within herself" to play during the 2007 season, but was now ready to put in the hard work necessary to get back to the top. She cited Mary Pierce, Jennifer Capriati and Andre Agassi as inspirational figures for her to follow towards her goal of reaching the highest echelons of tennis once more. Dokic spoke to the media briefly, but will use Tennis Australia to keep fans updated on her progress.
