🔗 Share this article Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. 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 successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. 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 successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."