🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92 The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 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-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 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-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."