6 months ago
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Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time victor of the French Open, has died astatine the property of 92, Italy’s tennis federation announced connected Monday (December 1, 2025).
“Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the lone Italian inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died,” said the FITP.
Born successful Tunis successful 1933 to an Italian begetter and Russian mother, Pietrangeli was wide considered the country’s top ever tennis subordinate until the emergence of existent satellite fig 2 Jannik Sinner.
He was besides 1 of the champion clay-court players of his generation, with 3 titles successful Monte Carlo and his location Italian Open tourney successful Rome, wherever a tribunal is named successful his honour.
In full Pietrangeli won 44 singles titles implicit his career, including his 2 triumphs astatine Roland Garros successful 1959 and 1960, and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals successful the aforesaid twelvemonth arsenic his 2nd French Open title.
An all-round sportsman, Pietrangeli played for shot squad Lazio until helium was 18 years old, but helium switched to tennis aft the Rome-based nine tried to nonstop him distant connected loan.
Pietrangeli’s archetypal triumph astatine Roland Garros was the archetypal clip immoderate Italian subordinate had won a Grand Slam and came aft helium defeated South African Ian Vermaak successful the final.
He besides won that year’s doubles tournament, which backmost past was hugely popular, alongside his compatriot Orlando Sirola with whom helium formed a formidable pairing.
Gifted with an fantabulous backhand, precise shot control, and awesome stamina, helium won his 2nd French Open rubric successful 1960 against Chilean Luis Ayala earlier being beaten doubly successful the 1961 and 1964 finals by Spaniard Manuel Santana.
During the bulk of his vocation tennis was divided betwixt amateurs, who played successful the accepted apical tournaments and the Davis Cup, and professionals who joined a parallel circuit erstwhile they established a estimation arsenic a apical player.
Unlike his contemporaries Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, Pietrangeli didn’t crook nonrecreational until the opening of the Open epoch successful 1968, by which clip helium was successful his mid-30s.
After his status Pietrangeli, a instrumentality of the precocious life, became a media personality, presenting fashionable sports programme La Domenica Sportiva and appearing successful 3 films.
“If I’d trained harder I would person won more, but I would person had little fun,” helium erstwhile said.
Pietrangeli was besides a Davis Cup stalwart, playing a grounds 164 matches for Italy, though helium ne'er managed to triumph it arsenic a player, losing the last successful 1960 and 1961.
He racked up those appearances betwixt 1954 and 1972, but helium didn’t sensation occurrence successful the planetary tourney until 1976 erstwhile helium captained his state to its archetypal title.
