Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
