Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died 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 says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to 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 prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
