The audience of Sunday night’s Logies were left in tears when Jelena Dokic accepted the Logie for Best Factual or Documentary Program.
The former tennis player took to the stage to accept the award for Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, which explored her years in the spotlight, her mental health struggles, and her relationship with her controlling and abusive father.
“I know you said 30 seconds but I will need at least 30 to gather myself,” she began. “I’m actually in shock. I didn’t think this was possible and I didn’t have a speech prepared.”
“I want to say a massive thank you to every single person who voted, not just the fans, but the industry. And not because of me. But because the hard stories and the difficult topics need to be told to create awareness,” she continued. “This is something that we did not even talk about 10 years ago. Now we have it in books and on screen.”
The former world No. 4 said the Logie wasn’t about “winning”.
“This is about a win for victims and survivors, especially of domestic violence and mental health,” she said.
“To every kid and person out there, I will say to every single girl and woman out there, never allow anyone to take your worth or happiness or smile away,” she continued. “Believe in your goals and dreams. I am standing here as someone who literally had that dream. I believed in it. I didn’t give up on it. If I can do it you can do it too.”
The speech comes just months after Jelena announced her estranged father, Damir Dokic, had died.
“My father passed away in the late hours on 16.05.2025,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history.
“Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non-existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father even one you are estranged from,” she continued. “The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief.”
“It’s an end of a chapter and life as I know it.”
In the film, Jelena recalled her father’s physical and mental abuse, including the time he got drunk and physically assaulted her after she lost a match.
“He beat the crap out of me,” she shares in the film. “He slammed my head hard against the wall multiple times. He actually punched me in the head. And then I went unconscious for a little bit. He also stepped on my head as well during the vicious attack.”
Speaking to Woman’s Day after the release of the documentary, the 41-year-old said she doesn’t “resent” her father.
“I don’t resent anyone, even my father — it’s never been about revenge, or holding a grudge. In fact, it’s the opposite — I think a strong and caring hand is the only way to really change things,” she said.
“Despite everything I’ve been through, one of the main things I will always stand up for is kindness. It was so important for me going into the two books [Unbreakable and Fearless] and now this documentary to never forget compassion — I will not ever blame another person for anything that has happened in my life,” she continued.
“And it took me a long time to realise that vulnerability is actually a super power, where once upon a time I think that it was looked upon as a weakness.”
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