Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
