Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise 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 inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
