🔗 Share this article Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."