Overview

• Pope Leo XIV, an avid tennis player, welcomed Jannik Sinner, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, for a private audience at the Vatican on May 14.
• Sinner presented the pope with a tennis racket and jokingly offered to rally, but the pope declined, humorously citing the room’s delicate decor.
• The meeting followed the pope's earlier lighthearted comments about Sinner’s surname, which he turned into a Catholic pun during a media event.
• Sinner is currently competing in the Italian Open, his first tournament since returning from a three-month doping suspension for accidental contamination.
• The encounter underscores Pope Leo XIV’s efforts to connect with people through shared interests, using sports as a platform for dialogue and engagement.