🔗 Share this article Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the advent 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 enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his two French Open successes, 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, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the advent 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 enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his two French Open successes, 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, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."