Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 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..."