Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 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, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
