Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
