🔗 Share this article Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated 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 boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title. The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated 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 boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."