🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92 The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92. The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year. With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."