Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise 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 World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
