Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
