Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set 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.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
