Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
