🔗 Share this article Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."