Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
