Sinner meets newly elected Pope at Vatican

World number one Jannik Sinner has met Pope Leo XIV in Rome.

The 23-year-old, who has reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in his first tournament since serving a three-month doping ban, was invited by the Vatican to meet the newly elected leader of the Catholic Church.

The Italian was accompanied by his family and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation to meet the Pope, who is formerly known as US Cardinal Robert Prevost and a keen tennis player.

Sinner presented his racket to the Pope and asked if he would like to “play a bit” – but the 69-year-old looked up at the lights in the reception room and jokingly responded: “Better not.”

In an interview in 2023, the Pope described himself as “quite the amateur tennis player”.