🔗 Share this article Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92 Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."