Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural 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..."
