Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 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, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
