Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
