World No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner met with Pope Leo XIV and presented him with a tennis racket, reports Breaking News.
Leo, the first American to become pope, is known to be a tennis fan and player. Earlier in the week, he mentioned he’d be open to a charity tennis match after a journalist brought it up.
However, Leo made a joke at the time, saying “we can’t invite Sinner”, a nod to the meaning of the player’s surname in English, reports Breaking News.
By Wednesday, with Sinner enjoying a rest day during the Italian Open, the comment seemed forgotten.
“It’s an honour,” Sinner said in Italian as he and his parents entered one of the Vatican’s auditorium reception areas, reports Breaking News.
Bringing along one of his rackets, which he handed to Leo along with a tennis ball, the three-time Grand Slam winner suggested they play a few shots.
But the Pope glanced at the surroundings and said: “Better not.”
Leo, 69, from Chicago, then appeared to make a joke about his white cassock, implying it might be perfect attire for Wimbledon due to the tournament’s strict all-white dress code, reports Breaking News.
He asked Sinner how the Italian Open was going.
“Now I’m in the game,” Sinner said, reports Breaking News.
“At the beginning of the tournament, it was a bit difficult,” reports Breaking News.
Sinner is set to play in the quarter-finals on Thursday — his first event back following a three-month doping suspension that was ruled to be due to accidental contamination.
He will face either Madrid Open winner Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar in the next round, reports Breaking News.
If he wins the tournament, Sinner will become the first Italian man to take the Rome title since Adriano Panatta’s 1976 victory.
During the meeting, the president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Angelo Binaghi, gave Pope Leo an honorary membership card.
“We all felt the passion that Leo XIV has for our sport and this filled us with pride,” Mr Binaghi said in a statement, reports Breaking News.
“We hope to embrace the Holy Father again soon, maybe on a tennis court,” reports Breaking News.
Sinner and the Pope also posed for photos beside the Davis Cup trophy, which Sinner helped Italy reclaim last year for a second consecutive win.
Also displayed in the room was the Billie Jean King Cup trophy, which the Italian women’s team secured in 2024 — the most prestigious team prize in women’s tennis, reports Breaking News.
Earlier in the week, responding to Leo’s light-hearted comment about not inviting him, Sinner had said it’s “a good thing for us tennis players” that the new Pope is a fan of the sport.
Besides tennis, Pope Leo is also a big fan of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, supported the Argentine football club San Lorenzo throughout his life, reports Breaking News.
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