Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of 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 pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
