Success on the court, abuse behind doors: Jelena sheds light on dark time

And, while her career on the courts was nothing less than impressive, her story of surviving what was going on behind closed doors is truly inspiring.

On May 3, Ms Dokic attended the Bathurst Library as part of her book tour for Fearless, the sequel to her first memoir, Unbreakable.

Anyone familiar with Ms Dokic's career will be aware of the antics her father caused at tennis tournaments, and that he was also abusive towards her.

But not everyone would realise the extent to which she suffered behind closed doors - physically and emotionally - and it's this story of survival that is the focus of Unbreakable.

This story also inspired a large part of the discussion at the book talk.

"I would not be here today if I hadn't found my voice," Ms Dokic told the group of 50-plus people who crowded into the Bathurst Library to attend the event.

"I had so much love and passion for tennis, but the first day I found tennis it came with something else - abuse.

"My healing journey began when Unbreakable came out. I felt like this massive weight lifted. I had found my voice, I was free."

Ms Dokic spoke about almost ending her life at only 22 years of age, because of the physical, emotional and financial abuse.

Nothing was good enough for her father and the more she accomplished the worse the abuse got.

At 29 years old, Ms Dokic retired from professional tennis, telling the audience she was "just existing, not living" and wondering if she'd "ever be able to live a normal life again."

"I was lost and I had no self-worth when I retired and that's what domestic violence does," she said.

After retiring, with some encouragement from people close to her, Ms Dokic decided to write the memoir of her life up until the end of her tennis career.

And, deciding she wanted to be completely transparent and 100 per cent honest in the book, she put pen to paper and 13 months later, along came Unbreakable.

"I wanted to share my story and help someone. If it helps one person, then mission accomplished," she said.

"I wanted people to really see the damage of domestic violence.

"It was received incredibly well. People would come up and say thank you, thank you for speaking up for us and I realised how much shame and stigma there is around talking about things that aren't perfect."

With the release of Unbreakable being a massive weight lifted from Ms Dokic's shoulders, she said it was time to take the next step.

"Finding the power to survive and thrive. You can get back up and start again," she said.

Ms Dokic spoke about the power of kindness and not living her life in the past, blaming people.

Despite the horrible things her father did, Ms Dokic said she does not hate him.

While she hasn't spoken to her father in 10 years, and said she probably never will, she holds no bitterness or resentment.

When asked by a member of the audience at the book talk whether other players were aware of the abuse or not, Ms Dokic said it does not matter.

"That's why I talk about kindness," she said.

"The resentment and bitterness and the blame and the hate, if I went into all this writing my first and second book with that thinking and pointing fingers, I wouldn't be here today as a happy free person.

"My father was always drunk and aggressive in the media and they loved doing interviews with him, but no one stopped for one second to go okay, there's two underage kids going home with this person.

"Why I talk about that story and I say it in my books is so we can create change ... but the only way you can do that is if you come from a place of good and not hate or resentment."