Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
