🔗 Share this article Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us 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 retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, 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 double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us 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 retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, 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 double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."