Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
