Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
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 double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 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, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
