Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 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 retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set 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, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
