🔗 Share this article Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, 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 one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."