🔗 Share this article Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92 The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "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 claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."