Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 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.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
