Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
