Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
