Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided 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 bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
