Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 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.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
