🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."