🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 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 double French Open champion, passed away at 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering 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 remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable 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 double French Open champion, passed away at 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering 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 remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."