Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining 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.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts 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.
Officials 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..."
