Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, 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..."
