It’s been almost 18 years since tennis player Mirjana Lucic-Baroni played in a Grand Slam semifinal. So what is she up to now? Enjoying her post-tennis career as a commentator, perhaps? Nope. She’s playing in the Australian Open after several years away from the game. And she made it all the way to the semifinals, before losing to world No. 2 Serena Williams.

It has been such a feel-good story that Williams, who is tied with Steffi Graf for most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, called her an inspiration after the match.

Lucic-Baroni was 17 when she played in her last Grand Slam semifinal, in 1999 at Wimbledon. Since then, the Croatian has spent many years away from professional tennis after alleging that her father was abusive and stole some of her money. Soon before she played at Wimbledon in 1999, she fled Croatia and her father — who had been her coach.

When she was 16 years old and ranked No. 50 in the world, she said, “There have been more beatings than anyone can imagine,” according to the New York Times. In response, her father, Marinko Lucic, said, ‘’I never used excessive force, and if I did give her the occasional slap, it was because of her behavior.”

She had more financial problems in 2003, when her former management company sued her and her family for unpaid loans. The suit still hasn’t been resolved.

Regarding the accusation that her father and his nephew had stolen her money, her father responded that his nephew, Milan Lucic, was a wealthy businessman who “had sponsored Mirjana and supported the rest of her family, paying their living costs and making repairs to their home in Makarska while she trained and traveled on the junior circuit,” the New York Times reported in 1998.

After years of turmoil and hard work, the 79th ranked Lucic-Baroni — who hyphenated her surname after marrying Daniele Baroni in 2011 — was rewarded financially. She made $680,000 for making the semifinals. If she had made it to the finals and lost, she would have made $1.4 million. And if she had won the tournament? She’d have gotten a check for $2.8 million.

But she was rewarded in ways more important than money too. After winning her quarterfinal match on Tuesday night, she was asked about all she’s been through in her life. She started crying and said, “I never could dream about being here again. I will never ever ever forget this day. This has truly made my life and everything bad that happened, it has made it okay.”