🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92 The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."