Remembering Nicola Pietrangeli, Italian tennis icon
It can be said that without Nicola Pietrangeli, who died today aged of 92, the sport of tennis may not have become as popular in Italy.
With film star good looks, Pietrangeli mingled with the jet-set, counting the likes of Marcello Mastroianni, Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale among his acquaintances. On court, it was his exceptional touch, movement and a superb backhand that helped him become one of the world’s leading clay-court exponents in the late 1950s and 1960s.
In seven major final appearances at Roland Garros, Pietrangeli captured four titles – notably the singles (d. Vermaak) and men’s doubles (w/Orlando Sirola) in 1959. The next year, his socks were red with blood in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Chile’s Luis Ayala. He additionally lost to Manuel Santana in gruelling singles finals of 1961 and 1964 and claimed the mixed doubles trophy at the event in 1958 with Shirley Bloomer.
Fans in Rome also marvelled at his 1957 and 1961 titles, two of 52 pieces of career silverware, but it was in the Davis Cup that Pietrangeli raised his game. In a record 164 rubbers between 1954 and 1972, the Italian won 120 matches and the country lost to Australia in the 1960 and 1961 Challenge Rounds (both held on grass courts). In playing retirement, as captain, he led Corrado Barazzutti, Paolo Bertolucci, Adriano Panatta and Tonino Zugarelli in 1976 to Italy’s first Davis Cup title with a 4-1 final victory over Chile in Santiago.
Pietrangeli was born in Tunis, and during the Allied occupation of Tunisia (1942-43), his father, Giulio, an amateur tennis player, was interned. Nicola started to play tennis inside the prison camp, before the family moved to Rome. He later became part of the youth team of Lazio football club.
It wasn’t until Pietrangeli was 19 that he fully committed to tennis. He first competed at the 1952 Italian Championships [now known as the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, an ATP Masters 1000 event] and at The Championships, Wimbledon on 19 occasions, reaching the 1960 semi-finals (l. to Rod Laver) — one of two years the right-hander ranked World No. 3.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986, and, 20 years later, the second largest tennis stadium at the Foro Italico was named in his honour. It is at the 3,000-seater Pietrangeli stadium, he wrote in his autobiography, Se piove rimandiamo (If it rains, we postpone), that he would like his funeral to be held.
Pietrangeli had three sons — Marco, Giorgio [who died aged 59 on 4 July 2025] and Filippo — in a 15-year marriage to Susanna Artero, and he also had a long-term relationship with Italian TV presenter Licia Colo. Pietrangeli had been in declining health following a hip fracture in December 2024.
Nicola ‘Nicky’ Chirinsky Pietrangeli, tennis player and captain, born 11 September 1933, died 1 December 2025
[NEWSLETTER FORM]