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Italian tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli has died at the age of 92. Throughout his illustrious career, Pietrangeli claimed two Grand Slam singles crowns at the French Open and secured the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles at Roland Garros. Following his retirement from playing, Pietrangeli took on the role of Italy's Davis Cup captain, leading the nation to its maiden title.

An outpouring of tributes followed after the Italian Tennis Federation confirmed Pietrangeli's passing on Monday morning. The announcement comes just months after his son, Giorgio, died aged 59 in July.

"Italian tennis mourns its icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 92," the Italian Tennis Federation wrote.

Federation president Angelo Binaghi told Sky Sports Italy: "Today, Italian tennis loses its greatest symbol, and I lose a friend. Nicola Pietrangeli wasn't just a champion: he was the first to teach us what it meant to truly win, on and off the court. He was the starting point for everything our tennis has become. With him, we understood that we too could compete with the world, that dreaming big was no longer a gamble.

"When you mention Nicola, you immediately think of the records, the Davis Cups, the titles and triumphs that will forever remain in our history. But the truth is that Nicola was much more. He had a unique way of being. With his sharp wit, his free spirit, his unending desire to live and joke, he managed to make tennis something human, real, profoundly Italian.

"Conversing with him was always a delight and a surprise: you could leave a conversation laughing heartily or with a thought that lingered for days. In my office, there's a photo that I hold dear: me as a youngster, a ball boy in a Davis Cup match in Cagliari, and in front of me, Nicola Pietrangeli.

"Every time I glance at it, I feel like I'm transported back to that day. And I realise that, in essence, everything started there for me. That photo isn't just a memory: it's a symbol. The symbol of how a child can fall in love with a sport thanks to someone who embodies it so fully and naturally. Nicola wasn't only the greatest player in our history. He was tennis, in the deepest sense of the word."

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Organisers of the Italian Open - which already has a showcourt named after Pietrangeli - also paid tribute to the Italian tennis legend. "It is with profound sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis and two-time Rome champion (1957, 1961). His legacy will forever live on in the history of our sport, in the memory of our tournament, and in the stadium that proudly bears his name. Ciao, Nicola," they wrote on social media.

Pietrangeli claimed the French Open, then known as the French Championships, in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, he also secured the men's doubles title in Paris alongside fellow Italian Orlando Sirola. He also captured the mixed doubles crown with Brit Shirley Bloomer in 1958.

The Italian secured 44 career titles and climbed to No. 3 in the world rankings. He became a Davis Cup icon for Italy. Pietrangeli competed in a record 164 matches across singles and doubles representing his nation in Davis Cup before leading the team as captain to their maiden title in 1976.

Pietrangeli's son, Giorgio, died in Rome in July, aged 59, following an incurable illness.