Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded 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 say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
