Italy's Tennis Great 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 genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
