Jelena Dokic’s incredibly personal “victim-survivor-thriver” story has been turned into a feature-length documentary that will be released in cinemas next month.

Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story recounts how the tennis champ coped on the court as she rose to become world No.4, how she survived as a refugee, twice, and how she endured years of abuse by her violent father and coach, Damir Dokic.

The Roadshow Films documentary is based on the best-selling and highly personal memoir of the same name penned by the one-time tennis champion turned Nine Network commentator.

It features Australian and international tennis greats, including Pam Shriver and Lindsay Davenport, as well as former WTA officials and journalist Chris Clarey of the New York Times, and CBS 60 Minutes reporter Jon Wertheim, reflecting on how the tennis world reacted to Dokic’s unfolding off-court battle.

In one clip, Dokic reveals how, aged just 16 and playing then world No.1, Martina Hingis, she knew if she lost, “the consequences would be catastrophic”.

“From early on, there were rumours about what was happening,” veteran Australian sports journalist Richard Hinds says.

“How did she play so well with everything going on in her private life?,” asks one contributor, while another says Dokic’s post-match interviews with the press sounded like “hostage videos”.

The documentary asks why “the tennis world and a nation of fans chose to look away” when the Serbian-born, Australian-raised Dokic needed them most.

On one occasion after Dokic lost a match, she said her father was “extremely angry”: “There was not an inch of skin that wasn’t bruised,” she recalls, with Davenport revealing other players also noticed the bruising.

The documentary goes into detail about bombs found in Damir Dokic’s possession, his bans from attending matches – and a courtside audience starting to turn against the young star because of him.

“I just remember standing there, oh my gosh, what are we going into?” Davenport says.

Dokic retired from professional tennis in 2014. Photo: Getty

In her 2018 memoir, Dokic wrote about her incredible survival story and how she overcame adversity, poverty and violence to rise to the top of her game.

Her revelations about her father’s shocking abuse stunned the world.

In a recent Headgame podcast with former SAS Australia co-host Ant Middleton, Dokic recounts her father’s cruelty, but says she “doesn’t want anyone to pity me, I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me”.

“When I started playing tennis and hit that very first ball, my father beat me. Things were unravelling and getting worse behind closed doors,” she says.

“Here I am, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, sitting in the middle of the players’ lounge in tears, talking to my father on a phone, who says I am disgrace, an embarrassment … because I lost in the semi-finals.

Dokic recalls she wasn’t allowed to go back to the family’s hotel after that loss. Her father told her to sleep on the street – instead she ended up curled in a corner of the players’ lounge where she was found by cleaners.

“It’s now OK … how do I rebuild and become this person that I know I can be?” she said in November last year.

“Let’s go victim, to survivor to thriver.”

And she’s done just that.

In her second highly personal book, Fearless: Finding the Power to Thrive, Dokic revealed her disordered eating, how she has stood up to body shaming and online abuse, and discussed facing her mental health demons head-on.

She also wrote about a devastating relationship breakdown.

This year she’s conducted multiple speaking engagements across Australia including a TedX talk, been the face of Nine’s tennis commentary team and, in August, was on the cover of Australian Women’s Weekly.

“A dream come true to be on the cover,” she posted.

“You made this once 15-year-old girl, who thought she was not good enough and never will be, so happy and a dream come true.”

Dokic often bares her soul on social media and talks about her health and wellbeing journey to her 250,000 Instagram followers.

Sharing the news about her documentary drew some public messages of support, including former host of the Ten network’s, The Project, Lisa Wilkinson.

“For all the years of pain you’ve experienced, you continue to stand strong and give back with your passion to help others. An iron will, and the sweetest of hearts proving a deadly combination.”

Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story premieres in cinemas on November 7