🔗 Share this article Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."