Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
