Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, 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, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
