Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
