Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed 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 remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
