Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
