🔗 Share this article Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis mourns a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set 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: "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 claim a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis mourns a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set 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: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."