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Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy’s first Grand Slam champion and Davis Cup great, dies at 92

Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy’s first Grand Slam champion and Davis Cup record-holder, dies at 92 today.

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Nicola Pietrangeli, a defining figure in Italian tennis whose achievements in the 1950s and 1960s set national records that stood until recent years, has died at 92. The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation announced his passing without giving a cause and noted that Pietrangeli remains the only Italian inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Pietrangeli was the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, taking the French Open in 1959 and defending it in 1960. His two Grand Slam singles titles among Italian players stood until Jannik Sinner won his second straight Australian Open title in 2025. Sinner has now won four majors.

On the clay of Paris Pietrangeli was also runner-up in 1961 and 1964, losing both finals to Manuel Santana, and he won the doubles title in 1959 with Orlando Sirola. He reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1960 and the Australian Open quarterfinals in 1957. “I won $150 for the 1960 title, which covered two months rent for my home in Rome,” Pietrangeli told the Gazzetta dello Sport in 2020.

His Davis Cup record is unmatched. Pietrangeli played 164 matches for Italy in 66 ties, compiling a 78-32 singles record and a 42-12 doubles record. He holds the Davis Cup records for most total wins and most singles wins and formed a highly successful doubles pairing with Sirola, the pair winning 34 of their 42 matches together. As a player he led Italy to the Davis Cup final twice, losing both times to Australia teams that featured Rod Laver and Roy Emerson.

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He later captained Italy to the Davis Cup title in 1976, coaching Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti, Paolo Bertolucci and Antonio Zugarelli to victory over Chile amid calls not to travel. “That was really my biggest contribution for that final,” Pietrangeli said. “Without me, Italy would have not traveled to that final and we wouldn’t have won.” Italy would not win the Cup again until Sinner led the Azzurri in 2023 and 2024; Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli then helped Italy to a third straight Davis Cup title, the first on home soil, in Bologna last month.

Figures in the sport paid tribute. Rafael Nadal posted: “I just heard the sad news about the passing of an Italian and world tennis great. My sincerest condolences to his family, his son Filippo and the entire Italian tennis family. RIP Nicola.” Italian federation president Angelo Binaghi said, “Nicola Pietrangeli was not only the first to teach us what it really meant to win, on and off the court. He was the starting point for everything that our tennis (movement) has become.”

After his competitive and coaching career Pietrangeli remained a presence at the Italian Open, a tournament he won in 1957 and 1961, beating Laver in the 1961 final, and was often a fixture in the front row at the Foro Italico.

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Murray to Join Draper’s Grass-Court Team as the 24-year-old Recovers

Andy Murray joins Jack Draper on grass, offering experience with injury comebacks and Wimbledon. 2026

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Andy Murray will join Jack Draper’s coaching group for the grass-court season, the young Brit announced as he parted ways with Jamie Delgado. The move arrives while Draper deals with another injury setback and prepares to return to competition.

“I am very grateful for everything Jamie Delgado has done for me over these past six months. He is a world-class coach and a great man,” Draper said in a statement.

“In the interim, I will continue to be supported by the excellent team at the LTA, with the addition of Andy Murray, who will be supporting me throughout the grass-court season.”

Murray was Draper’s childhood idol and the two were teammates in Davis Cup in 2023. Murray retired in 2024 and spent six months as a coach in 2025 before parting ways with that player in May. “Honestly, I would coach again but probably not right now,” Murray said in April. A short-term role with Draper for grass fits Murray’s stated preference to limit travel.

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Draper has not set a firm date to return but is scheduled to play the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club before Wimbledon if recovered. Murray’s presence offers grass-court experience: he won Olympic gold at Wimbledon in 2012 and claimed multiple Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon, becoming the first British man to win the tournament since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray can also share insights from long injury battles and comebacks. He returned to competitive tennis after hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 and has navigated pressure at the top of the game, reaching world No. 1 and winning two Olympic gold medals and three Grand Slams during an era dominated by the sport’s biggest figures.

Draper’s run of fitness issues has been persistent. After a nine-month layoff with a bone bruise in his arm last year, he skipped the Australian Open and returned to the tour in February. His best result in 2026 to date was a run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, including a win over Novak Djokovic. A knee injury sustained in Barcelona forced him out of the remainder of the clay season, including Roland Garros. “As gutting as it is to miss another slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five set tennis on clay,” Draper shared on Instagram.

“Off the back of the arm injury I sustained last year, I’ve been restricted with my training and by giving myself the time to heal and build, I can be the player I want to be out there once again. See you soon!”

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Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, closing the ‘Murray era’ in doubles

Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, ending a career that included a doubles world No. 1 peak today.

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Jamie Murray confirmed his retirement on social media Wednesday, announcing that his long run in professional tennis is over. The former doubles world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion posted images spanning his career and wrote that “[his] tennis journey [is coming] to an end after 36 years.”

In the message, Murray acknowledged the role his family played in his career. He thanked his mother Judy and his brother Andy for their support, saying their backing helped him “achieve everything I could in the game.” He added: “I feel very fortunate and privileged for all the amazing experiences this great sport has given me,” the 40-year-old wrote in the Instagram post.

Murray finishes his career with 34 tour-level titles, two of those won alongside his younger brother. The Murray pairing was central to Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years, with the brothers taking crucial doubles matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.

In 2016 Jamie reached a milestone for British doubles players by becoming the first British man to attain the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; he held that position for nine weeks. He also joined Andy as his doubles partner for Andy’s final Wimbledon tournament in 2024.

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The social post offered a reflective ending to a career that spanned more than two decades and encompassed Grand Slam titles, a stint at the top of the doubles rankings and a key role in a historic national team victory. Murray’s announcement marks the close of a defining presence in doubles competition and a notable chapter in recent British tennis history.

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Nadal returns to the slopes after 26 years for a family ski day at Baqueira Beret

Rafael Nadal returned to skiing after 26 years, sharing slopes and snow fun with his family on skis.

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Rafael Nadal spent time on skis this week for the first time in 26 years, sharing a winter outing with his wife Maria Francisca Perello and their 3-year-old son, Rafa Jr., at Baqueira Beret in the Catalan Pyrenees. The player behind the tennis academy that bears his name in Mallorca said the experience felt special after decades focused on managing an injury-prone body in his career. Nadal called it an “incredible feeling” to ski for the first time since his early teens.

During the trip he took a lesson guiding his eldest son and paused to build a snowman. An adorable video posted by Nadal showed little Rafa Jr. appearing at ease on the slopes, though Nadal indicated he would prefer professional guidance and invited suggestions on social media. “We’re still learning … any advice for us?” he asked, tagging American Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn replied, “We have to ski together when I’m healthy!” Vonn, 41, suffered a complex fracture of her tibia after a crash at the recently-concluded Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and required three surgeries to correct the injury.

Nadal, 39, played the final match of his tennis career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals after seasons affected by foot and hip injuries, the hip issue requiring surgery. He also underwent surgery in January for severe osteoarthritis in his right hand. Since stepping away from professional competition he has remained active, including time on the golf course with longtime rival Roger Federer and a practice session with academy alumna Alexandra Eala.

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Although the academy carries his name, Nadal has been noncommittal about coaching future champions on the court. For now, his winter trip made clear that other sports, and sharing those moments with his family, have an important place in his life after competitive tennis.

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