The former World No3 and reigning Olympic champion, Elena Dementieva, announced her retirement from tennis today after losing in straight sets to Francesca Schiavone to be eliminated from the WTA Championships.

The 29-year-old, who has struggled with injuries this year, surprised onlookers by announcing the end of her 12-year career on court after losing her final round-robin match 6-4, 6-2.

Dementieva reached the finals of the French Open and US Open in 2004, and beat Serena Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina on her way to the Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Her best performance this year came at the French Open where she was beaten in the semi-finals, again by Schiavone.

With the seven other players involved in the tournament gathered on court to lend their support, she said today: "This is my last tournament. Thank you to all of the people that I have worked with for such a long time.

"I would like to thank all of the players for an amazing experience. It's very emotional. I would like to thank all of the people around the world for supporting me through my career. And I would like to thank my family, especially my mum.

"It's so hard to say goodbye to all of you. I want you to know that I am going to miss you so much. Thank you."