Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing 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 long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."