Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
