Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden 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..."
