Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, 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 two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
