🔗 Share this article Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times 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," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, 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..."
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times 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," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, 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..."