Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history 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 a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
