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 Pietrangeli in 1996 | |||||||||||||||
| Full name | Nicola Chirinsky Pietrangeli | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Italy | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1933-09-11)11 September 1933 Tunis, thenFrench Tunisia | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 December 2025(2025-12-01) (aged 92) Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1968 (amateur from 1953) | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1973 | ||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1986(member page) | ||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 687–278 (71.4%)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 44 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (1959,Lance Tingay)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (1957) | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1959,1960) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | SF (1960) | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | 3R (1955,1965) | ||||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 21–20 | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1959) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1956) | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1958) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (1955, 1959) | ||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | |||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | F (1960Ch,1961Ch) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Nicola Chirinsky Pietrangeli (Italian pronunciation:[niˈkɔːlapjeˈtrandʒeli]; bornChirinsky; 11 September 1933 – 1 December 2025) was an Italian tennis player. He won two singles titles at theFrench Championships and is considered by many to be one of Italy's greatest tennis champions.[3][4]
Nicola Chirinsky was born 11 September 1933 inTunis, then aFrench colony, to Giulio Pietrangeli, also born in Tunis but of Italian parents fromAbruzzo andNaples, Campania, and Anna Chirinskaya (née von Yourgens), a Russian noble mother whoseDanish[citation needed] colonel father had fled theOctober Revolution.[4][5][6] At the time of his birth, his mother was married to a Russian count,[5][6][7] and only acquired the surname Pietrangeli upon her marriage to his father, who was interned as a political prisoner during theAllied invasion of Tunisia in World War II. He started playing tennis during that period, until his father was expelled in 1946 and the family settled inRome, Italy. There, Pietrangeli, a native French and Russian speaker, learned Italian.[4][5][6][7]
Pietrangeli made his international debut at the 1952Italian Open, losing in four sets toJacques Peten.[8] He appeared in four men's singles finals atRoland Garros – winning the title in 1959 and 1960, and finishing runner-up in 1961 and 1964. He also won the Roland Garros men's doubles title in 1959 (together withOrlando Sirola), and the mixed doubles in 1958. AtWimbledon, Pietrangeli was a single semifinalist in1960, when he lost toRod Laver in 5 sets. He won theItalian Open in 1957 and 1961 and was ranked World No. 3 byLance Tingay ofThe Daily Telegraph in 1959 and 1960 and also by Ned Potter in 1961.[2][9]
Pietrangeli represented Italy in theDavis Cup between 1954 and 1972. He played in a record 164 Davis Cup rubbers, winning a record 120. He was a player on the Italian teams which reached the Davis Cup final in 1960 and 1961. Both finals were played ongrass tennis courts in Australia, and the Italians were not able to overcome the strong Australian team which included Laver,Roy Emerson, andNeale Fraser.[10]
After retiring as a player, Pietrangeli became Italy's Davis Cup team captain and guided them to winning their first-ever Davis Cup in 1976.[11]
Pietrangeli was inducted in theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986.[12] On his 73rd birthday, theold tennis stadium inForo Italico of Rome was named in his honour.[13] He is among the very few tennis players to have received such an honour while still living (others include Laver andMargaret Court).[citation needed]
Pietrangeli was a supporter ofS.S. Lazio and also played in the team in his youth.[4][5][6] He also played a supporting role in the movieThere Was a Castle with Forty Dogs in 1990.
Pietrangeli was anEastern Orthodox Christian like his Russian mother.[5][14] He had three children with his first wife, Susanna, who later left him for another man.[5] He had a long relationship with the Italian journalist and TV presenterLicia Colò, 28 years younger than he was.[15]
Pietrangeli died in Rome on 1 December 2025, at the age of 92,[7] as announced by theItalian Tennis and Padel Federation.[16] He had experienced declining health after sustaining a hip fracture in December 2024.[17]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1959 | French Championships | Clay |  Ian Vermaak | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 1960 | French Championships | Clay |  Luis Ayala | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1961 | French Championships | Clay |  Manuel Santana | 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 0–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1964 | French Championships | Clay | Manuel Santana | 3–6, 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | Orlando Sirola |  Vic SeixasTony Trabert | 1–6, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1956 | Wimbledon Championships | Grass | Orlando Sirola |  Lew HoadKen Rosewall | 5–7, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1959 | French Championships | Clay | Orlando Sirola | Roy EmersonNeale Fraser | 6–3, 6–2, 14–12 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1958 | French Championships | Clay |  Shirley Bloomer | Lorraine CoghlanBob Howe | 8–6, 6–2 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | Amateur career | Open career | Career SR | Career W–L | Career Win% | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '54 | '55 | '56 | '57 | '58 | '59 | '60 | '61 | '62 | '63 | '64 | '65 | '66 | '67 | '68 | '69 | '70 | '71 | '72 | '73 | ||||
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% |
| French Open | 3R | 3R | QF | 1R | 4R | W | W | F | QF | QF | F | 4R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2 / 20 | 58–18 | 79% |
| Wimbledon | 2R | QF | 4R | 1R | 4R | 1R | SF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 0 / 19 | 30–18 | 63% |
| US Open | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 5–3 | 63% |
| Career | 2 / 44 | 95–40 | 70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fui sorteggiato con un belga, Jacques Peten. Aveva 40 anni ed ero sicuro di vincere. Persi in 4 set, una batosta che non ho mai dimenticato.
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