Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
