Jannik Sinner, tennis World No. 1, returned to the competition last week after a three-month abscence. By chance, or by fate, it happened at the same time as a new Pope was elected just a few miles from the Foro Italico where the Italian Open is played. And Leo XIV, turns out, is a great tennis fans.
Thus, it made sense that one of the first official receptions for the new Pontiff has been with Sinner himself, alongside his family and the President of the Italian Tennis Federation, Alberto Binaghi. According to Vatican News, the Pope “asked for some sporting tips”.
According to news agency EFE, the 69-year-old Pope and the 23-year-old tennis player joked about hitting some balls. Apparently, Leo XIV had previously made the classic wordplay between the Italian’s name and the word ‘sinner’, something that didn’t seem to bother the champion, who plays tomorrow a tough quarter-final match against Casper Ruud, Madrid Open champion, at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Robert Prevost previously said that he considers himself “quite the amateur player”, but maybe he will not find much time to play with all the work he has to do now…
