Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player until 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 inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 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 first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
