Jelena Dokic

Career highlights

Early life

Jelena Dokić was born in Osijek, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia to a Serbian father Damir Dokić and a Croatian mother, Ljiljana (née Podnar). She has a younger brother, Savo, eight years her junior. Her family lived in Osijek until June 1991, when they decided to leave due to the political instability and wars. They settled in Sombor, Serbia, for a short time and later, in 1994, emigrated to Australia. From 1994, they lived in Fairfield, a suburb of Sydney, where Dokić (later Dokic) attended Fairfield High School.

Junior career

In 1998, she won the US Open girls singles title and the French Open doubles with Kim Clijsters, ending the season ranked World No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation junior singles rankings and World No. 7 in doubles. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.

1999–2000: Major breakthrough

Dokic started the year by teaming up with Mark Philippoussis to win the Hopman Cup title. Until 2016, it was Australia's lone victory at the event. She then received a wildcard into the Australian Open, becoming a victim to world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6–1, 6–2. At Wimbledon, Dokic made her professional breakthrough.

As a qualifier, she caused one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, defeating World No. 1 Hingis 6–2, 6–0, in the first round. Ranked World No. 129 at the time, she was the lowest-ranked player to have defeated the top seed in a Grand Slam tournament during the open era. She also defeated ninth-seeded Mary Pierce in straight sets before losing 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 to Alexandra Stevenson in the quarterfinals. Dokic also reached her first WTA doubles final with Amanda Coetzer in Tokyo. During 1999, Dokic jumped 298 spots, finishing the year at World No. 43.

Dokic was defeated in the first round of the Australian Open by Rita Kuti-Kis of Hungary, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3. After the match, Dokic said, "I lost to a player who has never been a player and, I guess, probably never will be." During the spring clay court season, Dokic reached the quarterfinals of the Tier I events in Hilton Head, South Carolina and Rome (upsetting Venus Williams en route), as well as earning Fed Cup victories over Kim Clijsters, Anna Kournikova, and Sandrine Testud respectively. However, Dokic lost in the second round at the French Open.

Her successes at Wimbledon continued. She lost in the semifinals to Lindsay Davenport 6–4, 6–2. Jelena reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost to Serena Williams 7–6, 6–0 after holding two set points in the first set tiebreaker. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, representing Australia, she lost to Monica Seles in the bronze medal match 6–1, 6–4. In doubles, she teamed with Rennae Stubbs, but they lost in the second round. Dokic finished the year at World No. 26.

2001: First WTA titles, Top player

Beginning with the Australian Open, she began playing for Yugoslavia. Her father, Damir, claimed irregularities in the draw after her first-round loss to Lindsay Davenport and he was banned from the tournament due to abusive behaviour. Damir later said "I think the draw is fixed just for her" After the Australian Open, her family moved to the United States. In May, she won her first singles title in the Rome Masters, defeating Amélie Mauresmo in the final 7–6, 6–1. Later that year in doubles, she teamed with Conchita Martínez to reach the final of the French Open, where they were defeated by Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez in straights sets.

Later in the year, she reached five finals, winning two titles, in Tokyo (defeating former World No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario), and the Kremlin Cup (defeating Elena Dementieva). She also won her second title in doubles in Linz, with Nadia Petrova. She also qualified for the WTA Tour Championships in singles, reaching the quarterfinals. She finished the year at World No. 8. The Yugoslav Olympic Committee declared her their athlete of the year for 2001.

2002: Highest ranking

Dokic reached the final of the Open Gaz de France, where she was forced to hand a walkover to Venus Williams, after her first victory over Monica Seles a day earlier, due to a right thigh strain suffered in her win. In April, she won her fourth singles title in Sarasota, Florida defeating Tatiana Panova 6–2, 6–2 in the final. At the Hamburg event, Dokic collected a 7–6, 7–6 win over Justine Henin, before having to retire in the semifinals. Dokic was unable to defend her Rome Masters title, losing to eleventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina in the third round.

In Strasbourg, she reached her fifth final, losing to Silvia Farina Elia, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. At the French Open, she was defeated by top-seeded Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, 6–4, 4–6, 6–1. Dokic then won her fifth career singles title in Birmingham, defeating Myskina in the final 6–2, 6–3. She then lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon to Daniela Hantuchová 6–4, 7–5.

After Wimbledon, Dokic reached the final of the Acura Classic in San Diego, scoring her first win over Capriati in a three set match. In the final, however, she was defeated by Venus Williams 6–2, 6–2. She also reached the semifinals of Los Angeles, losing to Chanda Rubin, and Montreal, grasping a 6–4, 6–3 victory over Martina Hingis before retiring hurt against Capriati. Despite a 6–4, 6–2 loss to Elena Bovina in the second round of the US Open, Dokic reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 4. Dokic then reached the semifinals in Bahia and Tokyo. Dokic again qualified for the WTA Tour Championships, losing in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams 7–6, 6–0. She finished the year ranked World No. 9 in singles.

In doubles, Dokic won titles in Sarasota (with Elena Likhovtseva), Los Angeles (with Kim Clijsters), and Linz (with Nadia Petrova), as well as reaching the finals of Moscow and Zürich (both with Petrova). This success resulted in Jelena reaching her career high doubles ranking of World No. 10.

2003–2004: Out of the Top 10

In 2003, Dokic hired Borna Bikić from Croatia to be her trainer in place of her father. She played matches at 30 events, reaching one final, one semifinal, and seven quarterfinals. At Wimbledon she narrowly lost in the third round 6–4, 6–4 to a 16-year-old Maria Sharapova. However at Zürich, she beat the then World No. 1 player, Kim Clijsters, later to lose to Justine Henin in the final. She also reached a final in doubles, in Rome with Nadia Petrova. She played in 2004 Fed Cup for Serbia and Montenegro Fed Cup team and achieved two wins.

In mid-2004, Dokic returned to her family in Serbia, trying to put her life back in order and regain confidence. However, in November 2005, after a turbulent period of 4–5 months during which she cancelled all her tennis commitments and not even her family knew her whereabouts, she returned to Australia proclaiming, "I am an Australian, I feel like an Australian and I want to play for Australia again."

2005–2008: ITF Circuit

Representing Australia for the first time in 5 years, Dokic received a wild card into the ASB Classic in Auckland. However, she lost her first round match to Julia Schruff, 5–7, 7–6, 6–1, hitting 51 unforced errors and 28 double faults. Dokic then earned a wildcard berth at the Australian Open after winning the wildcard playoff. She held a match point on her opponent Virginie Razzano's serve and hit a forehand winner which did catch the line, only to have the umpire overrule the ball out. She went on to lose the match, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, hitting over 70 unforced errors.

Later in the year, Dokic played in the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon, where she received a wildcard. However, she suffered a 4–6, 7–6, 6–2 loss to Alexandra Stevenson. Under the guidance of new coach Nikola Pilić, after over three months away from the tour due to injury, Dokic qualified for a $10,000 tournament and reached the semifinals of the main draw before losing to Astrid Besser 3–6, 6–3, 7–6. In late November 2006, Dokic denied reports from her father that she had been kidnapped by her boyfriend, Tin Bikić.

In her interview, she said she would not play in the 2007 Australian Open because she was not ready and her aim was to get back into the top 30. Shortly after, Dokic left the Nikola Pilić tennis academy. She was due to sign a contract to be in the academy for a year, but she instead returned to Borna Bikić, her coach. Dokic said she was not satisfied with the contract Pilić's Academy offered her. After withdrawing from several ITF events in the early months of 2007, Dokic lost in the early rounds of two $10,000 events in Rome. Dokic then continued to withdraw from events. Back in Australia on 17 October, Dokic released a statement through Tennis Australia saying that she would be using their facilities in an attempt to make a successful comeback.

Dokic said she had not felt "within herself" to play during 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's long-awaited return to tennis came during the Australian Open wildcard playoff, where she was hoping to earn a wildcard into the first Grand Slam tournament of 2008. Dokic emerged from the round robin stage with a 3–0 record before retiring in her quarterfinal match while trailing 6–3, 3–1 due to a thigh strain.

Dokic received a wildcard for the qualifications of the 2008 Moorilla Hobart International, where she won four matches to reach the second round of the main draw, where she retired in her match against Flavia Pennetta due to an ankle injury. Dokic received a qualifying wildcard into the Australian Open, where she lost in the second round. After a three-month layoff, Dokic finally returned to action at the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem tournament in Fes where she qualified but lost in the first round against Gréta Arn. She then entered the following week in a $25,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Florence, Italy, where she qualified and proceeded to win the tournament, saving two match points against Mirjana Lučić in the quarterfinals and defeating seventh-seeded Lucie Hradecká in the final 6–1, 6–3. A week later, Dokic continued her winning streak by capturing the $25,000 ITF tournament in Caserta, Italy.

She was then offered a wildcard to the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she lost in the first round to Swiss Timea Bacsinszky. In July, she won her third $25,000 ITF in Darmstadt after winning the final 6–0, 6–0. After a period with less successful results, Dokic took a temporary break and withdrew from all ITF tournaments during September and early October. She returned mid-October after being awarded a wildcard for qualifying into the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz tournament. There, she won her first round match against Petra Martić before losing to World No. 63 Jill Craybas in the second round.

In December, Dokic again played the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff event, where she emerged from the round-robin stage with a 2–1 record, subsequently winning through to the final playoff. In this playoff, Jelena played a tough match against Monika Wejnert, coming out a victor 6–7, 7–5, 6–3 and earning a wildcard into the 2009 Australian Open. After the match, Dokic said:

"Some players just don't have it mentally to go through all that hard work, which I find is not a problem with me." (Jelena Dokic)

During the Playoffs, Dokic stated in a press-conference that she has ambitions to play Fed Cup for Australia in 2009. Subsequent to the Playoffs, Dokic was awarded a main draw wildcard entry into the inaugural, 2009 Brisbane International event.

2009: Big comeback

Dokic was knocked out of the Brisbane International by Amélie Mauresmo in straight sets in the first round. Dokic was up 5–3 in the first set before Mauresmo came back to win the tiebreak 11–9. In the second set, Dokic was down 3–5 but rallied to lead 6–5 before Mauresmo won the set in a tiebreak, 7–5. Dokic then received a qualification wildcard into the Moorilla Hobart International tournament but withdrew before her first match because of an Achilles tendon injury.

Dokic won her first round match at the 2009 Australian Open against Tamira Paszek of Austria, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4. It was her first Grand Slam match win since 2003. She then defeated World No. 17 Anna Chakvetadze in the second round, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3 and 11th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the third round 3–6, 6–1, 6–2. This was the first time she had reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. Dokic then advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2002 after defeating 29th-seeded Alisa Kleybanova 7–5, 5–7, 8–6. Dokic's run ended when she was defeated by Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. Because of this tournament, her ranking improved to World No. 91.

In an interview after her first-round win at the Australian Open, Dokic said that she still has no contact with her father, but is building relationships again with her mother and younger brother, and that she has been dating her boyfriend, Tin Bikić, for five years.

In Fed Cup, Australia was in the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I. Dokic defeated all three of her opponents in straight sets, Lee Jin-A of Korea, Suchanun Viratprasert of Thailand, and Diane Hollands of New Zealand. Australia advanced into the World Group II Playoffs in April. At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, she won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw, where she lost in the first round to top-seeded Wozniacki 6–1, 6–2 in 48 minutes.

Her next tournament was the BNP Paribas Open, a Premier Mandatory event in Indian Wells, California, where she lost to American Jill Craybas in the first round. Dokic received a wildcard for the main draw of another Premier Mandatory event, the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. She defeated Romanian Edina Gallovits in the first round before losing to 13th-seeded Wozniacki in the second round 6–3, 5–7, 6–2 on Wozniacki's fourth match point. Dokic withdrew from the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, citing fatigue. Dokic then won the second singles rubber of Australia's World Group II Fed Cup quarterfinal tie against Switzerland in Mildura, Australia.

Originally scheduled to play in the 2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in early May, she instead appeared as the number 1 seed in the $100,000 ITF event at Bucharest but lost in the semifinals to Andrea Petkovic 6–1, 3–6, 6–1. She then participated on the 2009 Warsaw Open, which was the last WTA Premier event before the French Open but lost in the first round to qualifier Ioana Raluca Olaru. She then played the 2009 French Open. In the first round, she beat Karolina Šprem by 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, her first win in the French Open since 2003. In the second round she played world no.4 Elena Dementieva. She led by 6–2 4–3 before retiring due to a lower back injury. She also played doubles, partnering with Alisa Kleybanova, they defeated Petra Cetkovská and Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round. They were scheduled to play world no.1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, in the second round but withdrew because of the injury.

Her injury forced her to miss Wimbledon warming up tournaments, but Dokic still appeared at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. She lost against qualifier Tatjana Malek in the first round 6–3, 5–7, 2–6 after serving 16 double faults. Dokic was then diagnosed as suffering from glandular fever and had to withdraw from Swedish Open in Båstad. She was ordered to rest for another fortnight and planned to get back on court on hard-court tournaments leading up to 2009 US Open. However, she did not make any appearance at the 2009 US Open Series.

She competed at the 2009 US Open but lost to Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. The week later, she played at the $100,000 ITF event at Biella where she is seeded fourth, but lost to Petra Martić in the second round. She then played at another $100,000 ITF tournament at Sofia but again lost in the second round to Andrea Hlaváčková 6–1 6–4. Two weeks later she played at another $100,000+H ITF tournament at Athens, Greece. She won the tournament by beating Eleni Daniilidou 6–2, 6–1 in the final. This was her first title in 2009 and her most significant title since 2002.

Dokic then travelled to France to play ITF level tournaments, started with Joué-lès-Tours, a $50,000 event where she was the top seed. She advanced to her second final of the year but lost to Sofia Arvidsson by 2–6, 6–7. She then played at Poitiers, a $100,000 ITF event, as the fourth seed. She made it to her third consecutive final and faced Sofia Arvidsson again. This time, she won the title 6–4, 6–4, clinching her second title in 2009. Dokic finished 2009 ranked World No. 56, her best showing since 2004.

2010: Out of the Top 100

Prior to the first Grandslam Event, Dokic participated in two Australian Open warm-up tournaments. She opened the season at the 2010 Brisbane International, where she lost to former world no.1 Ana Ivanovic by three sets, 5–7, 6–1, 3–6, in the first round. She then travelled to Hobart to play the Hobart International where she defeated Elena Baltacha 6–4, 6–2 in the first round but lost to second seed, Shahar Pe'er, in a disappointing second round match 2–6, 2–6 with Dokic making over 40 unforced errors. She was seen breaking down on court as well as crying after this match. As well as the singles, Dokic also participated in the doubles event at this tournament, trying to start a new combination with compatriot Alicia Molik. However, the pair lost in the first round to Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu by 6–7, 7–6, [10–2].

She then travelled to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open. Dokic was defeated in the first round of the 2010 Australian Open by 27th seed Alisa Kleybanova 6–1, 7–5. The loss caused Dokic's rank to drop to world no. 96. She also played doubles, partnering with Petra Kvitová, but the pair lost in the first round. In a recent article, Dokic decided to withdraw from Australia Fed Cup after dealing with emotions on and off court; however in the aftermath she said, "I have had a lot to deal with in my career but I am not done yet" and "I will be back."

Dokic withdrew from the 2010 PTT Pattaya Open in Thailand and 2010 Malaysian Open due to a mysterious illness. She lost in the qualifying rounds of 2010 Monterrey Open and the first round of 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. She was then offered a WC into 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami but declined it due to another injury. Jelena then continued to withdraw from WTA events in Marbella and Barcelona, Spain, and Fes, Morocco, still troubled by injuries.

Her clay season started in May, where she played at an ITF 50,000 tournament at Prague where she was seeded third. She lost in the quarterfinals to Corinna Dentoni. Her next tournament was the French Open, but she lost in the first round to 24th seed Lucie Šafářová. She then travelled to Rome to participate at an ITF 50,000 tournament but lost to Anna Tatishvili in the first round. The following week, she participated at an ITF 100,000 tournament at Marseille, France. She reached the quarterfinals but lost to eventual champion Klára Zakopalová by 6–1, 7–6.

She then played the qualification for Wimbledon but lost in the second round to Julie Ditty in three sets, after committing 24 double faults, including five in the fifth game of the final set. Dokic then withdrew from an ITF 100,000 tournament in Cuneo, Italy, with a wrist injury. The following week she withdrew from another one in Biarritz, France. She competed at an ITF 50,000 tournament in Contrexéville, France winning the singles 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 over Olivia Sanchez, thus claiming her first title in 2010. Partnering with Sharon Fichman, she lost in the doubles finals. She then won her second straight title, in Bucharest, Romania, at the ITF 75,000 Ruxandra Dragomir Open defeating Zuzana Ondrášková 3–6, 6–1, 7–6 in the final. With this win, Dokic was back in the top 100, ranked 96. The next week, she participated at an ITF 75,000 tournament in Vancouver, where she won her third straight title after defeating Virginie Razzano 6–1, 6–4 in the final, capping a 15-match winning streak. Dokic has the most $50,000 or more ITF titles in the ITF Women's Circuit.

Though she returned to the top 100 after winning three tournaments and 15 matches in a row, Dokic lost in the first round qualifying draw of the 2010 US Open to Laura Robson 6–1, 6–4. Jelena then travelled to Asia to participate at two ITF tournaments but had disappointing result as she both lost in the first round of the 100K+H tournament in Ningbo, China and 100K+H tournament in Tokyo, Japan. She then travelled back to Europe and participated at an ITF 50K tournament in Joué-lès-Tours. She double-bageled Eirini Georgatou in the first round and she beat Karolína Plíšková in the second round 4–6 6–3 6–3. In the Quarterfinal, Jelena beat Elitsa Kostova 6–3, 6–4. Dokic was beaten in the semi-final by Vesna Manasieva 7–6, 4–6, 6–1.

Jelena won her 1st round match in the 50K tournament in Saint-Raphael, France by beating Eva Birnerová 2–6 6–1 6–2. Jelena retired in her 2nd round match against Urszula Radwańska leading 7–5 0–2, with a suspected thigh injury. Dokic revealed that she had an elbow injury in the beginning of the year (possibly the reason she withdrew in tournaments such as Miami). Also, she explained that she did not take part in a lot of tournaments in the second half of the year to recover from injury and to deal with her coaching situations.

In December, Dokic participated in the Australian Open Wild Card playoff tournament. In her round robin, Dokic won all three of her matches and a spot in the semi final round where she defeated Alicia Molik. However, Dokic lost to Olivia Rogowska in the final 6–1, 6–7, 3–6. Despite missing out on a wild card spot, the organisers awarded her a wild card for the Australian Open main draw. Dokic finished 2010 ranked World No. 138.

2011: First WTA trophy after eight years

Dokic started her 2011 campaign by receiving three main draw wildcards during the Australian summer, in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. She comfortably won her first match in Brisbane 6–4, 6–3 against qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova but then lost to in-form, eventual finalist, Andrea Petkovic 0–6, 1–6. After the match Dokic cited a stomach virus as the reason to the loss. In Sydney, she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova by 2–6, 2–6 in the first round.

In the Australian Open, Dokic easily dispatched Czech Zuzana Ondrášková 6–3, 6–2 in the first round, but fell to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 6–7, 1–6 in the second round. She also received wildcard to participate in doubles, partnering with Sally Peers where they faced sixteenth seed, Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin, in the first round. The pair lost 1–6, 4–6.

At the 2011 Open GDF Suez in Paris, Dokic won all three qualifying matches for a spot in the main draw. Dokic then upset the 30th ranked Lucie Šafářová, a 2010 finalist, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 for a spot in the second round. This victory was Dokic's first victory over a top 30 player since the 2009 Australian Open. She backed up her strong performance by defeating fifth seed, and former doubles partner, Nadia Petrova in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6 in the second round to advance to her first WTA quarterfinals appearance since the 2009 Australian Open. However, her run ended after Kim Clijsters beat her 3–6, 0–6, despite leading 3–0 in the first set, in a victory that brought Clijsters back to world no.1. Nevertheless, Dokic's strong performance in the Premier event brought Dokic back to the top 100, at no. 91, and a main draw wildcard of the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships.

In the first round of Dubai, Dokic, hindered by illness, committed 41 unforced errors and 11 double faults to give victory to an in-form Flavia Pennetta losing 2–6, 2–6. Following the loss, Dokic travelled to Doha to participate at the qualifying draw of 2011 Qatar Ladies Open. She comfortably won her first match but lost in the second match to fellow Australian, Jarmila Groth.

Dokic traveled to Kuala Lumpur where she scored her biggest win of the year by upsetting World No. 5, 2010 French Open Champion, and top seed Francesca Schiavone 2–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the first round, despite serving 15 double faults. This is her first win against a top 5 player since 2003, where she defeated then world number one player Kim Clijsters in Zurich. She then defeated Japan's Kurumi Nara in the second round, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, to advance to her second WTA quarterfinal this year. She reinforced this win by upsetting an in-form Bojana Jovanovski, the eighth seed, in straight sets 7–6,6–2. This victory saw Dokic advance to her first WTA semi-finals since Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan in February 2004. Dokic faced a resurgent Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands, who had defeated defending champion Alisa Kleybanova in the second round and prevailed 6–2, 6–3 to advance to her first WTA singles final since the Zürich Open in October 2003. She concluded the tournament by beating Lucie Šafářová 2–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the final after saving two championships points in the second set tiebreak and being down 1–3 in the final set. This was Dokic's first WTA title under Australian flag and first since June 2002 where she won the DFS Classic, in Birmingham. Her strong performance rose her ranking to world no. 61.

Originally electing to strategically skip the qualifying stage of Indian Wells to compete in an ITF $100,000 tournament in the Bahamas, Dokic then withdrew from the ITF $100,000 tournament. Dokic's next tournament was Miami where she had to play the qualifying round. Dokic won both of her matches against Tatjana Malek and Christina McHale to advance to the main draw. In the main draw, Dokic fell to a resurgent former World No. 1, Dinara Safina in two close sets 4–6,4–6.

Dokic then started her clay season campaign by participating at Charleston, where she was upset in the first round by qualifier Anna Tatishvili, in three close sets, 5–7, 6–2, 4–6. She then participated at Fes as the sixth seed but was forced to withdraw due to a viral illness. This also subsequently forced Dokic to withdraw from Estoril and missed both Madrid and Rome. She finalised her preparation for the French Open by playing at Strasbourg. She defeated Fes finalist Simona Halep in the first round 6–2, 6–1 in just 48 minutes, dropping only one point on serve in the second set. Dokic then fell to resurgent former child prodigy Mirjana Lučić 2–6, 2–6. Despite this, Dokic's victory over Halep will ensure that she will reach the Top 60 for the first time since 2009, with a year high ranking of #59. In Roland Garros, Dokic lost to Vera Dushevina in the first round 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. She also participated in doubles partnering with Melanie Oudin but the pair lost in the first round to Alexandra Dulgheru and Magdaléna Rybáriková. In spite of an early exit from the clay Grand Slam, Dokic's ranking rose to #57.

After Roland Garros, Dokic participated at Copenhagen as the seventh seed but lost to a qualifier, Galina Voskoboeva, in the first round 3–6, 1–6. Dokic then rebounded with a victory over Alla Kudryavtseva at 's-Hertogenbosch in two sets 6–0, 6–4. She then upset fourth seed Flavia Pennetta 6–3, 6–4 in the second round to avenge her loss in Dubai, ensuring her third quarterfinal appearance of the year. In the quarterfinals, Dokic faced Swede Johanna Larsson whom she dispatched 7–6, 6–4, setting up a semi-final berth against Romina Oprandi, who had upset World No. 2 Kim Clijsters in the second round. She won the match 6–4, 2–0 (retire) to ensure her second final appearance of the year against Roberta Vinci. Dokic was edged out in three close sets, 7–6, 3–6, 5–7. Despite the loss, Dokic's run to the final ensured that for the first time since October 2004, she will be ranked in the Top 50 – at world no. 45.

Dokic's next tournament was Wimbledon where she lost to sixth seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round 4–6, 6–1, 3–6 despite being a favourite to upset. She also participated in doubles, partnering with Bojana Jovanovski but fell to third seed Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in the first round.

Dokic's next scheduled tournament was Budapest, but she decided to withdraw to recover from a hamstring injury. The same injury forced her to withdraw from the tournament in Bad Gastein and Baku as well. Dokic then participated in Washington as the fourth seed, but her lack of match play saw her fall in the first round to China's Zhang Shuai. She played in San Diego, but was defeated in three tight sets to Ayumi Morita with her 15 double faults being highlighted as the main concern for the match. Since then, Dokic did not play any further matches due to a shoulder injury. Despite this setback, Dokic took part in the main draw of the US Open. She reached the second round but lost to Jelena Janković in straight sets.

On 27 September, Dokic went back to Belgrade, Serbia, and reconciled with her father. Dokic then participated in the qualifying round of Linz in October but retired after losing the first set 3–6 in the first qualifying match to Evgeniya Rodina due to the shoulder injury that had been bothering her since July. This turned out to be Dokic last match in 2011.

2012–2014: Struggles with form, injury

Dokic began her 2012 season in Auckland where she lost in the first round 7–6 6–1 to Mona Barthel. Then, she received a wildcard to compete in Sydney. In the first round, she defeated fellow Australian Isabella Holland 6–0, 6–0 to set up a clash against eight seeded Marion Bartoli in the second round where she lost 6–0 6–3. She also played doubles with Sofia Arvidsson where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears. One week later, Dokic took part in the Australian Open. She began her campaign by defeating Anna Chakvetadze in the first round 6–2, 6–1. In the second round, she met Bartoli for the second time in two weeks. Dokic's nine double faults (some at crucial points) cost her and she lost 6–3 6–2. Despite that loss, Dokic stated she had played much better than in Sydney. She also participated in doubles and mixed doubles competitions, partnering with Kateryna Bondarenko and Paul Hanley respectively, but lost in the first rounds of both.

Dokic travelled to Bogotá where she was the 4th seed, but lost to Paula Ormaechea 4–6 6–3 6–4. In Monterrey, she lost to eventual runner up Alexandra Cadantu 3–6 6–1 7–5. As the defending champion and 7th seed at the BMW Malaysian open in Kuala Lumpur, Dokic started her campaign successfully, defeating Kristina Mladenovic 6–3 6–1 and started well against fellow Australian Olivia Rogowska, leading 6–3 4–2, but eventually losing 3–6 6–4 7–6(2). Since she failed to defend her points, she dropped out of the top 100.

She then suffered 3 consecutive first round losses at Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston, losing to Gisela Dulko 1–0(ret.), Ekaterina Makarova 6–1 7–5 and Galina Voskoboeva 4–3(ret.) It was later revealed Dokic had suffered from a continuing right wrist injury since the beginning of the year, explaining her poor results and retirements. Dokic was set to return to tournament play at the ITF Challenger tour in September, but was forced to cancel all commitments due to continuing problems with her wrist. In November 2012 it was announced Dokic had undergone wrist surgery and would miss the Australian summer of events.

In May 2013, Dokic said in an interview that she was training for a comeback attempt at smaller tournaments using an injury protected ranking. Again, in October 2013, she said that after a wrist operation she was training with Todd Woodbridge to try for a wildcard entry into the 2014 Australian Open. Dokic entered the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff in December 2013 but lost in the first round to Jarmila Gajdošová (2–6, 4–6). She received a wildcard to play alongside Storm Sanders at the doubles competition; in the first round, the team lost 4–6, 4–6 to Magdaléna Rybáriková/Stefanie Vögele in what was Dokic's final appearance in a rating event.

Post-retirement

Dokic has kept a low profile since the end of her playing career. She was engaged by Tennis Australia as a coach immediately following her retirement, and was pictured coaching rising Australian star Daria Gavrilova at a training camp in Italy in June 2014. She also wrote for Australian Tennis Magazine in 2014.

Singles performance timeline

This table is current through 2012 Sony Ericsson Open.

Doubles performance timeline

This table is current through 2014 Australian Open.

Awards