Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
