Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
