Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
