Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
