🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92 Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to 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 spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to 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 spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."