Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open 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 star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, 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, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
