Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner beamed as he met the newly elected Pope Leo in the Vatican.
The world number one presented the US pontiff, himself a keen tennis player, with a racket after being invited to the Vatican along with his parents and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation.
The two were pictured laughing as they held a racket each and Sinner, 23, also held a tennis ball.
But Leo, who became the 267th pontiff in a historic election earlier this month, declined a suggestion to go for a hit with the three-time grand slam winner, as he looked at the lights on the ceiling and said to laughter: “Better not.”
Leo joked earlier this week that he didn’t want to meet the world number one, at least not in a match.
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Asked by a journalist if he would take part in a charity match, the 69-year-old appeared up for it, but cautioned: “Just don’t bring Sinner”.
The Pope described himself as “quite the amateur tennis player” in a 2023 interview published by the website of his Augustinian religious order.
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Sinner is taking part in the Italian Open tennis tournament, which is being staged a short distance from the Vatican, coming back from a three-month doping ban.
When asked during a news conference on Monday about the Pope’s comments, he blushed and, burying his head in his hands, he said: “Why do you have to put me in a difficult spot?”.
He added: “Obviously I heard that he played as a kid. I think it’s a good thing for us tennis players to have a pope who likes this sport that we’re playing.”
