Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."