Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 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 coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
