🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."