🔗 Share this article Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."