Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
