Former Grand Slam winner
Mourning for ex-tennis star: Nicola Pietrangeli is dead
Updated 12/01/2025 – 12:19 p.mReading time: 1 min.
In 1959, Nicola Pietrangeli made tennis history when he became the first Italian to win a Grand Slam title. Today Italian tennis mourns his death.
Nicola Pietrangeli is dead. The two-time French Open winner died in Rome at the age of 92, the Italian association announced on Monday.
Pietrangeli was his country’s first Grand Slam champion and had made Italian tennis internationally known in the 1950s – long before players like Jannik Sinner came to the fore. In 1959 he became the first Italian to win the French Open, followed by his second title in Paris in 1960. In the same year he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
As team boss, Pietrangeli led Italy to Davis Cup victory in 1976. As a player, this success was denied him, even though he set several records in the competition. No player played more Davis Cup games (164), and his 78 individual victories are also unmatched.
Even after his active career, Pietrangeli remained a defining voice in Italian tennis. In October he criticized Jannik Sinner’s rejection of the Davis Cup. He called the decision a “serious blow” for Italian sport. Pietrangeli lost his son Giorgio in the summer. The former top surfer died at the age of 59.