A two-time French Open champion, Nicola Pietrangeli, has passed away at the age of 92, according to an announcement on Monday by Italy’s tennis federation.
“Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died,” the FITP stated.
Born in Tunis in 1933 to an Italian father and Russian mother, Pietrangeli was long regarded as Italy’s greatest tennis figure prior to the rise of current world number two Jannik Sinner.
Across his career, he secured 44 additional singles titles, highlighted by his French Open victories in 1959 and 1960.
He also reached two more finals at Roland Garros, losing both to Manuel Santana in 1961 and 1964, and advanced to the Wimbledon final in the same year as his second Paris triumph.
“It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis… Ciao, Nicola,” said organisers of the Italian Open, a tournament he won twice.
Pietrangeli was equally influential in the Davis Cup, playing 164 matches for Italy and later guiding the national team to its first title in 1976 as captain.
