Dokic back after career threatening injury

Jelena Dokic
| credits: File copy

Jelena Dokic has revealed that as late as three months after surgery to repair her badly damaged wrist, she feared she might never play tennis again.

The 30-year-old former world No.4, who hasn’t played since withdrawing from a tournament in April, 2012, is working with Todd Woodbridge to regain her condition and is aiming to gain a wildcard entry to the Australian Open. She said she still loved tennis and, though she realised how difficult it would be to get back to her best form, she was confident in her ability and experience.

“I’ve been doing this for my whole life. Once I start playing tournaments it will come back pretty quickly,” she said.

However, just getting on the court at all seems to have been a major challenge for Dokic. “With my wrist, I thought I would never hold a racquet again after my surgery,” she said, explaining the surgery involved removing cysts between the joints, shaving tendons and tendon reconstructions in three fingers.

“The day after I couldn’t move my hand. Even three months later I couldn’t even write, let alone play tennis. From that point of view, I’m very lucky to be on the court and very lucky to be able to train to try and come back.”

She is coming back, but it’s not a comeback. Dokic said she never retired, but was rather forced to the sidelines through long-term injuries, including a shoulder problem.

Asked if she considered pulling the pin, she said: “Not really. I sort of feel like I was in retirement almost, because it’s been a while and I just didn’t play at all and took a break. Mentally I never really thought about it that way. Even though it was a long time – that’s the only scary thing, that it’s been nearly two years. But I’m just taking it a day at a time and we’ll see what happens.

“I think it’s going to take a while. It will take some matches, it will take some tournaments. As long as I’m healthy I think I will be all right. It will probably take a couple of months to get back into it completely. But I’m looking forward to that.”

Dokic has reportedly found peace with her father, Damir, and said her life had been good “for a while”.

“A lot of things have changed. I’m in a completely different place. More experience – maybe not great experience. All the negative things have taught me different things. I have a whole lot of experience, not even for my tennis, just my life in general. I’m so happy that I’ve had the good and the bad. You’ve got to go through everything.”