🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92 Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 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, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 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, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."