Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
