Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded 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 say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
