Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
