Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
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-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."