Private audience at the Pope
Pope Leo welcomes tennis star Sinner – “Do you want to play?”
If the new Pope is a tennis fan, visiting the world ranking from Italy does not long for long. Despite the rackets, however, the two did not play a match.
One of Pope Leo XIV’s first private audience was a sports star: Pontifex, who was enthusiastic about tennis, received the Italian world ranking of Jannik Sinner in the Vatican. Among other things, the family of the 23-year-old and the president of the Italian tennis association, Angelo Binaghi.
They brought two trophies to the new head of the Catholic Church: the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup, won by the Italian selection teams of men and women in 2024.
No spontaneous rallies in the Vatican
“Do you want to play a bit?” Asked Sinner the visibly amused Pontifex at the meeting in a building of the Vatican. “No,” replied the Pope and had to laugh. “Otherwise everything broke here.”
Leo XIV., Court Robert Francis Prevost, is considered a big tennis fan. Already on Monday the Pope was open to a benefit tennis match in favor of the papal mission. “As long as they don’t bring their siners,” he said. The joke is in the name – in English “Sinner” means something like “sinner”.
Benefit game between the Pope and Sinner?
Jannik Sinner himself reacted with humor at a press conference. “Playing with the Pope? Why do you get me into trouble,” said number one in the world of tennis. “For us tennis players it is nice to know that the Pope likes our sport.” Sinner is currently in use at the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome for the first time after his three-month doping lock.
dpa
Source: Stern
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