Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
