🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts 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. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts 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. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."