<figure id="attachment_3058936" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3058936" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3058936" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/0388a268-jannik-sinner-pope-leo-14052025.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3058936" class="wp-caption-text">The pontiff, in a light moment, declined a suggestion to knock a ball around, staring at the lights. (Vatican Media/AP pic)</figcaption></figure>
VATICAN CITY: Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner had an audience on Wednesday with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, himself a keen tennis player, the Vatican said.
Sinner was invited to the Vatican along with his parents and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation.
Leo joked earlier this week that he didn&#8217;t want to meet the world number one, at least not behind the net.
Asked by a journalist if he would take part in a charity match, Leo appeared up for it, but cautioned: &#8220;Just don&#8217;t bring Sinner,&#8221; making a Catholic pun about the last name of the tennis star.
Sinner presented the pope with one of his tennis rackets, but the pontiff declined a suggestion that they knock a ball around, staring up at the lights in the reception room. &#8220;Better not,&#8221; he said, to laughter.
The pope, formerly known as US Cardinal Robert Prevost, described himself in a 2023 interview published by the website of his Augustinian religious order as &#8220;quite the amateur tennis player&#8221;.
Sinner is taking part in the Italian Open tennis tournament, which is being staged a short distance from the Vatican, coming back from a three-month doping ban.
He blushed when asked during a news conference on Monday about the pope&#8217;s comments and buried his head in his hands.
&#8220;Why do you have to put me in a difficult spot?&#8221; he said, before adding: &#8220;Obviously, I heard that he played as a kid. I think it’s a good thing for us tennis players to have a pope who likes this sport that we&#8217;re playing.&#8221;
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Jannik Sinner was invited to the Vatican, along with his parents and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation.

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