Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
