🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided 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..."
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided 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..."