Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden 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 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 World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
