Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers 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 veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
