Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
