Pope meets Sinner: No. 1 player gives tennis fan Pope Leo XIV racket on Italian Open off-day

By NICOLE WINFIELD and ANDREW DAMPF VATICAN CITY AP Pope Leo XIV has made peace with Jannik Sinner Related Articles How ancient reptile footprints are rewriting the history of when animals evolved to live on land Rights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup Chinese businesses view tariff pause with caution and uncertainty A still-unfolding diplomatic road seeking peace in Ukraine has had countless twists and turns -year-old girl reunites with her mother in Venezuela after US deportation The top-ranked tennis performer visited the new pope on Wednesday gave him a tennis racket and offered to play during an off day for Sinner at the Italian Open Leo the first American pope is an avid tennis performer and fan and had stated earlier this week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist But at the time Leo joked we can t invite Sinner an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner s last name By Wednesday all seemed forgotten It s an honor Sinner declared in Italian as he and his parents arrived in a reception room of the Vatican s auditorium Holding one of his rackets and giving Leo another and a ball the three-time Grand Slam champion suggested a quick volley But the pope looked around at the antiques and revealed Better not Italy s Jannik Sinner left shares a light moment with Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of their meeting at the Vatican Wednesday May Vatican Media via AP Leo a -year-old from Chicago then appeared to joke about his white cassock and its appropriateness for Wimbledon perhaps a reference to the All England Club s all-white clothing rule He demanded how the Italian Open was going Now I m in the competition Sinner declared At the beginning of the tournament it was a bit complicated Sinner has a quarterfinal match on Thursday in his first tournament back after a three-month ban for doping that was judged to be an accidental contamination He will next face freshly-crowned Madrid champion Casper Ruud Sinner is attempting to become the first Italian man to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in During the audience Angelo Binaghi the head of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation gave Leo an honorary federation card We all felt the passion that Leo XIV has for our sport and this filled us with pride Binaghi commented in a message We hope to embrace the Holy Father again soon maybe on a tennis court The pope and Sinner posed for photos in front of the Davis Cup trophy that Sinner helped Italy win for the second consecutive time last year Also on display in the room was the Billie Jean King Cup trophy won by Italy in the biggest women s group event in tennis Earlier in the week after Leo s first quip about not wanting to invite him Sinner revealed it was a good thing for us tennis players that the new pope likes to play the sport In addition to tennis Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox baseball fan His predecessor Pope Francis was a lifelong fan of Buenos Aires soccer club San Lorenzo Dampf announced from Rome Associated Press religion coverage receives help through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content