Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national 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 holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
