Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
