Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
