🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."