Italian Tennis Legend Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Last update: December 1, 2025
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French Open great and Hall of Fame inductee leaves behind a towering legacy in Italian tennis.
Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at 92, Italy’s tennis federation announced on Monday.
“Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian ever inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away,” the FITP said in a statement.
Born in Tunis in 1933 to an Italian father and a Russian mother, Pietrangeli was long regarded as Italy’s greatest tennis player until the rise of current world No. 2 Jannik Sinner.
Over the course of his career, Pietrangeli claimed 44 singles titles, highlighted by back-to-back victories at Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960.
He also reached two additional French Open finals, losing to Manuel Santana in 1961 and 1964, and made the Wimbledon final the same year as his second Paris triumph.
A cornerstone of Italy’s Davis Cup program, Pietrangeli competed in 164 matches for his country and later captained the team to its first-ever Davis Cup title in 1976.
