Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time 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," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 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 true legend of Italian tennis..."
