🔗 Share this article Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92 The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds 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 double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation. In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds 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 double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."