Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
