Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside 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 Davis Cup, winning 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 veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
