World No. 1 Jannik Sinner paid a goodwill go to to Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday, gifting the newly elected pontiff a tennis racket and providing to hit a number of balls throughout his relaxation day on the Italian Open.
Leo, the primary American pope and a self-proclaimed tennis fanatic, had joked earlier within the week {that a} charity match can be enjoyable – however quipped, “We can’t invite Sinner,” taking part in off the English that means of the Italian star’s surname.
By Wednesday, the joke was water underneath the bridge. Peace was made, and tennis diplomacy prevailed.
“It’s an honor,” Sinner stated in Italian as he and his mother and father arrived in a reception room on the Vatican’s auditorium. Holding one among his rackets and giving Leo one other together with a ball, the three-time Grand Slam champion steered a fast volley. But the pope seemed round on the antiques and stated, “Better not.”
Leo, 69, of Chicago, then appeared to joke about his white cassock and its suitability for Wimbledon – maybe a nod to the All England Club’s all-white clothes rule.
He requested how the Italian Open was going.
“Now I’m in the game,” Sinner stated. “At the beginning of the tournament, it was a bit difficult.”
Sinner has a quarterfinal match Thursday in his first event again after a three-month doping ban that was dominated to be the results of unintentional contamination.
He will subsequent face newly topped Madrid champion Casper Ruud. Sinner is trying to develop into the primary Italian man to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
During the viewers, Angelo Binaghi, president 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 stated in a press release. “We hope to embrace the Holy Father again soon – maybe on a tennis court.”
The pope and Sinner posed for images in entrance of the Davis Cup trophy, which Sinner helped Italy win for the second time final yr. Also on show was the Billie Jean King Cup trophy, received by Italy in 2024 – the highest ladies’s group occasion in tennis.
Earlier within the week, after Leo’s preliminary quip about not inviting him, Sinner stated it was “a good thing for us tennis players” that the brand new pope enjoys the game.
In addition to tennis, Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox fan.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, was a lifelong supporter of the Buenos Aires soccer membership San Lorenzo.
Source: www.dailysabah.com