🔗 Share this article Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92 The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double 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 claim a major singles title. The world of tennis is mourning a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960. With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."