Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
