Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
