🔗 Share this article Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."