Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
