🔗 Share this article Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event 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 secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event 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..."