Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 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 maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
