During the 1960 French Open final, Nicola Pietrangeli removed his shoes during a break and saw his socks were soaked in blood. Luis Ayala’s constant drop shots and lobs had forced him to run so much that the skin peeled off his feet. He finished the tough match playing on raw flesh, yet moved “with the elegance of a matador” to win his second Roland Garros title. Today, the Italian legend is no more, as Pietrangeli left a lasting legacy in tennis history. 

Nicola Pietrangeli has died at the age of 92. The Italian Tennis Federation confirmed his passing on Monday. They noted that his health had declined after he suffered a hip fracture in December 2024. 

The exact cause of death was not immediately known. His death also came just months after the loss of his son, Giorgio, who passed away aged 59 in July.

Tributes began pouring in soon after the announcement. The Italian Tennis Federation wrote: “Italian tennis mourns its icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 92.” Many in the tennis world remembered his impact and long-lasting legacy. His achievements remained central to Italy’s sporting identity.

Pietrangeli was one of Italy’s earliest global tennis stars. He won the French Open, then known as the French Championships, in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, he also captured the men’s doubles title in Paris with Orlando Sirola. 

A year earlier, in 1958, he won the mixed doubles crown with Brit Shirley Bloomer. His success on clay made him one of the most respected players of his generation.

His greatest accomplishments came in the Davis Cup. Pietrangeli played a record 164 matches and won 120 of them. This record still stands. Italy reached the Davis Cup final in 1960 and 1961 with him as a player. 

After retiring, he became team captain and led Italy to its first Davis Cup title in 1976. His leadership marked a turning point in Italian tennis history.

In 2024, Rafael Nadal spoke about that era and highlighted Pietrangeli’s importance. 

“It was truly a completely different world — much less professional. Yet it produced great champions like Pietrangeli, who helped our sport grow and improve in every way, both on and off the court,” Nadal added.

Pietrangeli was more than a top athlete. He helped introduce tennis to a wider audience, turning it from an elite sport into a national passion. His personality made him stand out in a time when professional sport was less strict.

He often joked about his relaxed approach to training. At the 2024 presentation of the documentary “Nicola vs Pietrangeli,” he said: “I often hear people say, ‘If you had trained more, you would have won more.’ That’s true, but I would have had much less fun.” 

Pietrangeli also enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle. He was part of the 1960s jet set and spent time with stars like Marcello Mastroianni, Brigitte Bardot, and Claudia Cardinale. 

Now, as he is no more, the Italian Tennis Federation and the entire tennis community honour his memory and extraordinary influence on the sport.

Rafael Nadal offers a heartfelt tribute to Nicola Pietrangeli

A true bon vivant, he always chose pleasure over discipline. Italian sports commentator Rino Tommasi summed him up perfectly: “Nicola could not live differently, he would never say no to a party, a dinner, a woman to play a better game.”

In his later years, Pietrangeli stayed close to the spotlight. He continued to share strong opinions about modern tennis and its top players. Some critics felt he was envious of younger generations, but he always denied this.

After Italy’s Davis Cup win in 2024, he spoke proudly of Jannik Sinner. He said the young world No. 1 was “on the right path to break all my records,” but added that “one remains impossible to beat: my 164 Davis Cup matches.”

In his autobiography, he even imagined how his funeral should look. He hoped it would be held at “his” Pietrangeli Stadium in Foro Italico. He wrote about its 3,000 seats, its parking, and the covered passage that protects from rain. His vision showed his humour and sense of drama.

And today, as soon as news of his death spread, Rafael Nadal reacted with deep emotion. The King of Clay shared a heartfelt message to honour the man who once embodied greatness on red clay. Nadal also remembered how Pietrangeli presented him with the 2010 Roland Garros trophy.

The image attached to Nadal’s tribute told its own story. Pietrangeli, in a navy blazer, handed Nadal the fifth Coupe des Mousquetaires. Their smiles reflected respect across generations and a shared love for the sport.

Italian Federation president Angelo Binaghi also expressed his grief. He told Sky Sports Italy: “Today, Italian tennis loses its greatest symbol, and I lose a friend. Nicola Pietrangeli wasn’t just a champion: he was the first to teach us what it meant to truly win, on and off the court. He was the starting point for everything our tennis has become. With him, we understood that we too could compete with the world, that dreaming big was no longer a gamble.”

Binaghi added more praise. He said, “When you talk about Nicola, you immediately think of the records, the Davis Cups, the titles and triumphs that will forever remain in our history. But the truth is that Nicola was much more. It was a way of being. With his cutting wit, his free spirit, his inexhaustible desire to live and joke, he managed to make tennis something human, real, profoundly Italian.”

With all these tributes flowing in, one message stands strong: RIP Nicola!