Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
