Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
