The world of tennis mourns Nicola Pietrangeli, international champion and undisputed symbol of this sport. The first Italian to win a Slam and the only Italian athlete included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame has passed away at the age of 92. Pietrangeli’s death leaves a deep void among fans, former colleagues and new generations of tennis players.
A legendary career
Born in Tunis on 11 September 1933 to an Italian family, Pietrangeli was among the protagonists of “tennis of the past”, that of wooden rackets, red clay courts and strictly white suits. A charismatic and often controversial personality, known for his decisive character, he represented Italy in one of the most flourishing periods of the sport.
Before the explosion of the Jannik Sinner phenomenon, he was universally considered the best Italian tennis player ever. Extraordinary on clay, he won Roland Garros twice, in 1959 and 1960, a feat still never equaled by other Italians. In 1961 he also triumphed at the Italian Internationals, establishing himself among the world elite.
The unbeaten record
Pietrangeli also wrote indelible pages in the Davis Cup: he still holds the absolute record of matches played (164) and won (120) between singles and doubles. In his career he took part in 22 editions of the Italian Internationals and 20 of Roland Garros, reaching the final on Parisian clay four times. He was the first Italian to win two Slam titles and for over twenty years he represented Italy at the highest levels.
He retired from professional tennis in 1971, at the age of 38, after approximately two decades of competitive activity. However, he did not abandon the field: he continued to play non-professionally and, above all, he became non-playing captain of the Italian Davis Cup national team.
In 1976 he led Italy to a historic victory in Chile, the only Italian triumph in the competition to date. A result that definitively consecrated him as a central figure, not only of tennis, but of Italian sport. With him a piece of history goes, but the legacy of an athlete who brought Italy to the top of the world, inspiring generations of tennis players, remains.
