Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time 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 victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
