Nicola Pietrangeli

He was an Italian tennis player. He won two singles titles at the French Championships and is considered by many to be one of Italy's greatest tennis champions.

Nicola Chirinsky was born on September 11, 1933 in Tunis, then a French colony, to Giulio Pietrangeli, also born in Tunis but of Italian parents from Abruzzo and Naples, Campania, and Anna Chirinskaya (née von Yourgens), a Russian noble mother whose Danish[citation needed] colonel father had fled the October Revolution. At the time of his birth, his mother was married to a Russian count, and only acquired the surname Pietrangeli upon her marriage to his father, who was interned as a political prisoner during the Allied 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 in Rome, Italy. There, Pietrangeli, a native French and Russian speaker, learned Italian.

Pietrangeli made his international debut at the 1952 Italian Open, losing in four sets to Jacques Peten. He appeared in four men's singles finals at Roland 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 with Orlando Sirola), and the mixed doubles in 1958. At Wimbledon, Pietrangeli was a single semifinalist in 1960, when he lost to Rod Laver in 5 sets. He won the Italian Open in 1957 and 1961 and was ranked World No. 3 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1959 and 1960 and also by Ned Potter in 1961.

Pietrangeli represented Italy in the Davis 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 on grass tennis courts in Australia, and the Italians were not able to overcome the strong Australian team which included Laver, Roy Emerson, and Neale Fraser.

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.

Pietrangeli was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986. On his 73rd birthday, the old tennis stadium in Foro Italico of Rome was named in his honour. He is among the very few tennis players to have received such an honour while still living (others include Laver and Margaret Court).

Pietrangeli was a supporter of S.S. Lazio and also played in the team in his youth. He also played a supporting role in the movie There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs in 1990.

Pietrangeli was an Eastern Orthodox Christian like his Russian mother. He had three children with his first wife, Susanna, who later left him for another man. He had a long relationship with the Italian journalist and TV presenter Licia Colò, 28 years younger than he was.

Pietrangeli died in Rome on December 1, 2025, at the age of 92, as announced by the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. He had experienced declining health after sustaining a hip fracture in December 2024.

Pietrangeli appeared in four men's singles finals at Roland 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 with Orlando Sirola), and the mixed doubles in 1958.
At Wimbledon, Pietrangeli was a single semifinalist in 1960, when he lost to Rod Laver in 5 sets (6–4, 3–6, 8–10, 6–2, 6–4).

He won also the Internazionali d'Italia in 1957 and 1961 and was ranked World No. 3 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1959 and 1960 and also by Ned Potter in 1961.

A master finesse player who proudly represented Italy in Davis Cup competition from his early twenties deep into his thirties.

A masterful match player and tireless campaigner, he set an astonishing record by winning 120 of 164 matches in Cup play.

He was a player on the Italian teams which reached the Davis Cup final in 1960 and 1961. Both finals were played on grass courts in Australia, and the Italians were not able to overcome the strong Australian team which included Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Neale Fraser.

Stylish and elegant, Pietrangeli was a crowd favorite nearly everywhere he went. Most comfortable from the baseline, he acquitted himself ably in every facet of the game.

After retiring (1973) as a player, Pietrangeli became Italy's Davis Cup team captain and guided them to winning their first-ever Davis Cup in 1976.

Pietrangeli was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986.