Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving 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 widely considered the country's finest player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
