🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."