🔗 Share this article Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 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 two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 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 two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."