Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic icon: 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 win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
