Jelena Dokic blasts 'body-shamers' in powerful post about weight

Aussie tennis great Jelena Dokic has issued a powerful statement about her weight, lashing out at body-shamers on social media.

The former World No.4 wowed fans last year when she dropped down from 120kg to 68kg - the same weight she used to play at during her professional career.

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But Dokic, who has since retired from tennis and works as a commentator for Channel Nine, continues to struggle with her weight and is constantly being trolled over it online.

In a lengthy post on Instagram over the weekend, Dokic took aim at the body-shamers.

"Real talk on body shaming," she wrote alongside photos of her varying sizes.

"I am constantly disappointed and sad to see people treat and look at others differently because of their size.

"People are constantly obsessed over whether someone is big, small, fat or skinny - as they like to put it. Why the obsession with our size, especially what size women are?

"IS OUR WORTH AND IF WE ARE GOOD HUMAN BEINGS REALLY DETERMINED BY OUR SIZE?

"So disappointing to see people treat and talk about people that they consider ‘big or fat’ badly and putting them down, in real life as well as online."

Dokic shared three images side-by-side taken at various stages throughout the last few years.

"These images of me are at all different sizes and weight. Does the image on the left make me less worthy than the one on the right?" she asked.

"Is me being a good, kind, empathetic and considerate person determined by my size?

"What’s important is if someone is kind, compassionate and a good person not what size they are.

"And before you judge anyone have a think about this next statistic. Those people you are judging based on their size, most of them have had to deal with something very hard in their lives.

"Studies have shown that almost 90% of people that have had to deal with a lot of trauma, pain and suffering use food as a coping mechanism and they find comfort in food because it will never let them down like other people and circumstances in their lives have.

"And I know this from personal experience. That’s how I dealt with my pain, trauma, suffering, depression and suicidal thoughts. If I didn’t use food as a coping mechanism who knows if I would be here today.

"So before people judge, they should stop for just one second and ask themselves if instead of judging they can help that person or even if you don’t know that person do the right thing and just don’t judge at all.

"I have gone up and down with my weight and eating habits. You all know that. I have been very open about that.

"I will continue to work hard on my self and to try and be as healthy as I can be. I will eat healthy and train hard but not to be thin or skinny but to be healthy and feel good. Whatever size that might be.

"Don’t forget it’s not one size fits all, please don’t judge people based on their size and be kind always."

Jelena Dokic alleges sickening abuse from father

The 38-year-old won six WTA titles throughout her 16-year professional career and reached World No.4 in 2002.

She also made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and French Open, as well as the final of the 2001 French Open women's doubles.

Dokic endured a tumultuous and abusive relationship with her father and coach Damir, as she outlined in her 2017 autobiography.

Jelena alleged that her father beat her so badly after a first-round loss in 2000 that she lost consciousness.

She also claimed Damir whipped her with a leather belt, spat in her face and pulled her hair and ears.

“Not just the physical pain but the emotional, that was the one that hurt me the most,” she said in the book.

“When you are 11, 12 years old and hear all those nasty things … that was more difficult for me.”

Readers seeking support and information can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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