Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player until the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 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 maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
