Sinner and Binaghi at the Pope's, the champion gives him a racket: "Shall we play?", "Better not here"

Jannik Sinner and the president of Fitp, Angelo Binaghi, were received this morning by the new Pope, Leo XIV.

Together with the world number 1, his family and that of the president of the federation.

In the private audience, which took place as a surprise this morning, the federation also brought with it to the Pope the trophies won in 2024 by the Italian men's and women's national teams, the Davis Cup and the BJK Cup .

The news was also confirmed by the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni: «Yes, the Pope's passion for sports is well known», he said.

Sinner gave the Pope a tennis racket, he had also brought his own and a ball, and asked Leone: "Do you want to play?" The Pope showed him the room with lamps and other furniture and laughingly replied: "Let's leave it, it's better not to here" . Leone also added laughingly: "At Wimbledon they would let me...", meaning that they would let him play on the famous British court, given the dress code that requires the color white on London's grass courts.

Robert Francis Prevost, after being appointed cardinal by Bergoglio, spoke in an interview about his passion for tennis: " I consider myself a decent amateur tennis player. Since I left Peru I have had few opportunities to train, so I can't wait to get back on the court . So far my new job hasn't left me much free time."

They say he had a good backhand. In recent days, speaking to journalists, the Pope had joked: "We play tennis but we don't call Sinner," he had said, referring to the meaning of the word "sinner" in Italian, "sinner." "It's wonderful for us tennis players to have a Pope who follows us and has played," Sinner had commented.

(Unioneonline/L)