🔗 Share this article Italian Tennis Legend 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 authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true 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 authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."