Nicola Pietrangeli was the winner in singles at the Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960 and at the Internazionali d'Italia in 1957 and 1961. He reached the final twice more in Paris, in 1961 and 1964, and in Rome, in 1958 and in 1966. Even at Wimbledon his results remain among the best of Italian players: in his eighteen participations he reached the semifinal in 1960, when he was defeated by Rod Laver in five sets (6-4, 3-6, 8-10, 6 -2, 6-4), a feat surpassed only 61 years later by Matteo Berrettini, who reached the final in 2021.

In his only participation in the Australian Championships, in 1957, he reached the quarterfinals, the best result, tied with Giorgio De Stefani, obtained by an Italian tennis player in the editions of the tournament played on grass, and second overall behind Matteo Berrettin.

The Tennis Archives database lists 48 tournaments won by Pietrangeli in singles, net of the seven Italian championships, some simple exhibitions and the under 23 tournaments. He is also the only Italian, together with the journalist Gianni Clerici, to have been introduced into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Pietrangeli is a native French and Russian speaker. He only learned Italian once he moved to Italy.