Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."