🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92 The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, 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 spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92. The player made history by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, 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 spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."