Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up 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 guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
