🔗 Share this article Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92 The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died 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 the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title. Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died 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 the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation. Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."