In a sport where secrets are not very easily kept, Elena Dementieva's retirement from tennis was a genuine surprise.
It has to be said that she has graced the tour over the last 15 years, she was a fantastic athlete with a great attitude and she will be sorely missed.
She may have never won a Grand Slam and nerves did betray her at various points throughout her career but she still did achieve a heck of a lot: an Olympic gold medal, $14 million worth of prize money (as well as anything she earned off the court) - and she is now well heeled for the rest of her life.
She is also one player who I think everyone can agree deserves the riches she earned.
Elena is also a very bright girl and says she is now going to go to university, continue her studies, and I'm sure we will see her again shortly.
She is going to study journalism, so it will be great to see her still popping up at tournaments and still being involved in the game.
Going back to her time as a player, and the one quality she had that really stood out was a level of gracefulness that many of the other players have never reached.
The way that all the other players playing in Doha lined up when she was giving her farewell speech says it all really.
Some might say she was the greatest player never to win a Grand Slam. I'm not sure I'd agree with that, she was a very good player, but she had a few too many flaws to reach true greatness from a playing stand point.
The serve in particular was such a flaw and her nerves did get the better of her a bit too often, but her demeanour has left a great impression on the sport.
Elena looks, and is, as honest as the day she was born, and she has always been scrupulously fair in everything she has done.
Often you would watch her play and she was highly frazzled but as soon as she was off court she had a ready smile and it was the same with her mother too.
Vera always looked so concerned over every shot Elena played and you wondered how she could possibly cope with the strain of watching her daughter play day-after-day; but I've seen the two of them off court together and it is obvious they have such a great relationship.
If Dementieva played another season, I still think a Grand Slam might have been just beyond her as there are a few too many players ahead of her who, if they are playing at their best, would be too strong for her, but given the fluctuating nature of tennis it is not beyond the realms of possibility to suggest she might have sneaked one.
However, as I said, I think she is pretty much sorted and happy in life now, and she will go on and forge a good secondary career.
She will be missed be the tennis community but her achievements and personality will not be forgotten.
Click on the video below to watch her retirement speech.