Jelena Dokic has found love again after she was left ‘shattered’ in the aftermath of her split from her long-time boyfriend, Tin Bikic, in 2021.
The tennis champ, 42, revealed last year she was ‘closed off’ after the heartbreaking experience.
It was another blow to her heart after the years-long abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, Damir Dokic.
But things are looking up for Jelena.
Yane Veselinov has captured the heart of the Australian sports commentator, with the pair confirming their relationship on Monday in a sweet Instagram post.
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The pair were first spotted cuddling up together at Melbourne Airport in May, with Jelena unable to wipe the grin off her face as she accepted an embrace from Yane.
A glance at Yane’s social footprint reveals he relocated to Melbourne after previously living in Sydney and Perth.
Like Jelena, Yane is from the Balkans and is Macedonian.
He has a brother named Vladimir and a sister named Mihaela, as well as a mother, Dragica, who currently lives in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Yane proudly became an Australian citizen late last year, announcing the news on November 14 with a celebratory post.
‘Today I made a pledge to this beautiful country that I will obey all of the laws and respect the political and democratic views,’ he wrote.
‘To be honest and independent Australian—thank you so much Australia for giving me the BEST… it’s official, I’m an Aussie!’
Jelena’s new love works as a Hospitality Operations Manager, and specialises in ‘creating magical moments and orchestrating flawless events’.
According to his LinkedIn account, Yane has been the Operations Manager at Wine and Cheese Fest since November 2018.
Before that, he had a brief eight-month stint at Food & Desire and worked as the Events Manager at The Malthouse Theatre from 2021 to 2022.
Yane also held a position as a Marketing Consultant at Numero IX from 2020 to 2021, and a Managing Partner at Casual Dining Concepts from 2015 to 2018 in Sydney.
The first job he has listed in Australia was in Perth as the Events Manager for Portofinos Restaurant and Function Centre from 2011 to 2015.
Yane’s Instagram is filled with photos of food and trips to art exhibits and concerts throughout Melbourne.
He also appears to have a love of tennis, attending the Australian Open in 2020.
He states in his bio he is a ‘food and wine enthusiast’, ‘pleasure seeker’, and ‘life enjoyer’.
Jelena went Instagram official with Yane on Monday.
The sports commentator shared a loved-up photo of the pair to social media alongside a sweet caption.
Jelena gushed over her new man, writing: ‘You are my calm, safe, peaceful and happy place. So glad I found you.’
Yane also shared the picture to his Instagram Stories just a few hours later, captioning it with, ‘My all,’ alongside a series of heart-face emojis.
The couple were first spotted together at Melbourne Airport back in May.
Jelena was seen exiting her flight and grinning broadly as she accepted a warm embrace from her bearded man and entered the terminal.
Late last year, Jelena revealed she had been ‘closed off’ to finding love ever since she split from her long-time Brazilian boyfriend, Tin.
The couple were together for almost 19 years before announcing they had ended their relationship in 2021.
Despite saying her walls have been up ever since, Jelena took to Instagram to make the heartbreaking admission that she was ‘scared of being alone’ for the rest of her life.
‘Love. It’s been a challenging personal period. We don’t talk about this enough but relationship breakdowns are so tough,’ she said alongside a selfie.
‘And if you have been the one left hurt or abandoned then let’s be honest, it’s just life-shattering. And as you get older, it only gets tougher with more scars, pain and hurt.
‘My 19-year relationship ended 4 years ago and while we will always care for each other, especially because we were together since we were 20, that chapter is over.’
Jelena went on to say she was ‘built’ to love one person ‘unconditionally and so fully that it gets me in trouble’.
‘It turns into heartbreak and pain,’ she added. ‘I put up walls 4 years ago and I said they are never coming down.
‘But as life likes to show us, not everything we plan or think will happen actually does. So, of course, someone brought those walls down and I got hurt. Badly.
‘So, I guess the question is: Do we keep our walls down and hope love comes along? Or do we never give it a chance again and don’t allow the walls to come down?
‘There are people that will have different answers. I have now been alone and closed off for 4 years and I still don’t know what the answer is.’
The Australian tennis commentator said she now has ‘a lot of abandonment issues’ from her past, which make her ‘feel like I will be alone forever’.
Jelena was referring to the horrendous abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and tennis coach, Damir.
‘Am I the only one scared of being alone for the rest of my life?’ the media personality candidly asked her fans.’
‘Bringing walls down has also brought some feelings and triggers I never had before and I don’t know how to react or what to do,’ Jelena continued in the lengthy missive.
‘Bottom line is it’s tough and what do we do? Close ourselves off forever or get hurt and feel pain in order to one day maybe feel that unbelievable and crazy love again?’
Jelena ended her searching questions by saying she had come down on the side of hope and openness.
‘I will never give up and one day those walls will come down again and hopefully the wait, pain, hurt and disappointment will be worth it and I will find that amazing love,’ she said.
It certainly seems Jelena has found her ‘amazing love’, just as other aspects of her life have also begun to fall into place.
The former athlete went under the radar after her retirement from professional tennis in 2014, only to come back few years later and become just as successful in media.
She quickly became a prominent face in tennis commentary, landing a role with Fox Sports at the Australian Open in January 2017.
The same year, she published an autobiography, Unbreakable, about her life, career, and the years of physical and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her father.
It topped the Australian book charts on its first day of release and inspired a documentary film about her life in 2024.
She published another book in 2023, Fearless: Finding the Power to Thrive, which also tells the story of how she survived poverty, trauma, and family violence.
Jelena is now a commentator and expert analyst for Channel Nine at Wimbledon.
She has also been sharing her recent weight-loss journey with fans after shedding 20kg in ten months, following a two-decade-long battle with an eating disorder.
