ATP Tour
Remembering Italian tennis icon Nicola Pietrangeli
Pietrangeli is the leading player of the Italian team, Davis Cup captain, etc.
December 1, 2025
AFP/Getty Images
Nicola Pietrangeli poses for a photo in Foro Italico, home of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where a stadium is named after him, in 2022.
James Bader
It can be said that without Nicola Pietrangeli, who died today at the age of 92, tennis might not be as popular in Italy.
With his movie-star good looks, Pietrangeli mingled with the rich and his acquaintances included Marcello Mastroianni, Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale. On the court, it was his extraordinary touch, movement and outstanding backhand that helped him become one of the world’s leading clay court representatives in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Pietrangeli won four titles in seven Roland Garros finals – notably in 1959 in the singles (v. Welmark) and men’s doubles (with Orlando Sirola). The next year, with his socks stained red, he defeated Chilean Luis Ayala 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. He also lost hard-fought singles finals to Manuel Santana in 1961 and 1964, and captured the mixed doubles trophy in 1958 with Shirley Bloomer.
Roma fans also marveled at his 1957 and 1961 titles, two of 52 career trophies, but it was in the Davis Cup that Pietrangeli raised his level. The Italians played a record 164 matches between 1954 and 1972, winning 120, but the country lost to Australia in the 1960 and 1961 Challenges (both held on grass courts). After retiring, he captained Corrado Barazzutti, Paolo Bertolucci, Adriano Panata and Tonino Zumgarelli to their first Davis Cup title in 1976, defeating Chile 4-1 in the final in Santiago.
Pietrangeli was born in Tunisia, where his father Giulio, an amateur tennis player, was interned during the Allied occupation of Tunisia (1942-43). Nicholas began playing tennis in a prison camp before the family moved to Rome. He later became a member of Lazio Football Club’s youth team.
It wasn’t until the age of 19 that Pietrangeli fully devoted himself to tennis. He first participated in the 1952 Italian Championship [now known as the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, an ATP Masters 1000 event] At Wimbledon, he reached the semifinals 19 times (l. to Rod Laver) – one of two years when the right-hander was ranked No. 3 in the world.
In 1986 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and 20 years later the second largest tennis stadium in Piazza Italia was named after him. He wrote in his autobiography Se piove rimandiamo (If it rains, we postpone) that he wanted the funeral to be held at the 3,000-seat Pietrangeli Stadium.
Pierangeli had three sons—Marco and George [who died aged 59 on 4 July 2025] and Filippo – who has been married to Susanna Artero for 15 years and is also in a long-term relationship with Italian TV presenter Licia Colo. Pietrangeli’s health declined after suffering a hip fracture in December 2024.
Nikolai “Nikki” Chilinsky Pietrangeli, tennis player and captain, born September 11, 1933, died December 1, 2025
