Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
In addition to his two 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
