Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
