'It's a joke': Jelena Dokic hits out over 'disgusting' supermarket act

Former Aussie tennis player Jelena Dokic has taken to social media to slam the dire situation in Australia’s supermarkets.

Comparing the situation to the hardships her family faced in war-torn Serbia when she was a child, Dokic slammed those panic-buying and hoarding as ‘disgusting’.

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The former player-turned commentator, who came to Australia as a refugee at age 11, posted a photo on Instagram on Sunday showing empty shelves in supermarkets.

“This is absolutely terrible and not necessary and I am not sure if I am more angry or sad,” she wrote.

“As someone who has seen war and being a refugee more than once, as someone who has genuinely seen what it looks like when there is no food in stores not because people are over buying but because there is no food in the whole country, as someone who went hungry many days and nights, as someone who had no money to buy food and as someone who stood in lines for hours at a time at 4am in freezing cold as a kid to be able to get a small piece of bread and had no electricity and heating when it was -20 outside, trust me what we are doing now is not necessary.

“In fact it is inconsiderate, greedy, rude and disgusting. We are in tough and unprecedented times but there is more than enough food and supplies to go around for years to come and we have enough to feed everyone.

“This panic buying is just hoarding and all of those people that bought so much food and don't even get me started on the toilet paper, bought more than enough for months and even years. It's a joke.

“With that all of those people showed just how greedy they are and unkind. Instead of being so selfish some of those people should be checking on the elderly and people with disabilities and helping them buy food and whatever else they need because they all missed out and they are doing it tough right now and are the most vulnerable.

“Let's stop being selfish and let's unite and stand together to get through this. We will get through this but in the meantime let’s help the ones that need help and instead of making the news for fighting with each other in the supermarkets, let's make the news for helping the vulnerable and uniting together.

“Be kind to one another and stay strong, healthy and safe everyone.”

Roger Federer’s impassioned plea amid crisis

With competitions suspended around the world, Roger Federer has been among the many sporting stars self-isolating in a bid to combat the deadly pandemic.

Currently recovering in his native Switzerland from knee surgery he underwent in February, Federer posted an impassioned plea to his legion of fans on Instagram.

During the message, the 20-time grand slam champion urged the public to take the threat of coronavirus seriously, calling on the community to practice washing their hands and social distancing as much as possible.

The 38-year-old - who is planning on retuning to tennis in June for another crack at the Wimbledon title - says it's important for communities to look out for one another in such a time of crisis, particularly those at the greatest risk such as the elderly.

“I’m also staying home, and I haven’t been shaking anybody’s hands for quite some time now,” Federer said.

“I wash my hands very frequently as we’re supposed to. I believe helping each other is more important now than ever, especially because we want to help the older generation.

“They’re the ones at highest risk, and we need to help them by keeping a distance of two metres and not shake hands.

“It’s really important to take these rules seriously. Very very seriously.

“Eventually, we could all be in quarantine and not be able to leave the house anymore, so I really hope all of us take it very seriously.”

Both the ATP and WTA announced this week there will be no tournaments played until June at the earliest, meaning Federer will miss very little to no tennis while he recovers from knee surgery.

COVID-19 has already claimed more than 40 lives in Federer's homeland, with Swiss hospitals like many around the world, pushed to the brink as a result of the pandemic.

with Andrew Reid and agencies