VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has made peace with Jannik Sinner.
The top-ranked tennis player visited the new pope on Wednesday, gave him a tennis racket and offered to play, during an off day for Sinner at the Italian Open.
Leo, the first American pope, is an avid tennis player and fan and had said earlier this week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist.
But at the time, Leo joked "we can't invite Sinner," an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner's last name.
By Wednesday, all seemed forgotten.
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, shares a light moment with Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of their meeting at the Vatican, May 14.
"It's an honor," Sinner said in Italian as he and his parents arrived in a reception room of the Vatican's auditorium. Holding one of his rackets and giving Leo another and a ball, the three-time Grand Slam champion suggested a quick volley. But the pope looked around at the antiques and said, "Better not."
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Leo, a 69-year-old from Chicago, then appeared to joke about his white cassock and its appropriateness for Wimbledon, perhaps a reference to the All England Club's all-white clothing rule.
He asked how the Italian Open was going. "Now I'm in the game," Sinner said. "At the beginning of the tournament, it was a bit difficult."
Sinner has a quarterfinal match on Thursday in his first tournament back after a three-month ban for doping that was judged to be an accidental contamination.
He will next face either freshly-crowned Madrid champion Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar. Sinner is attempting to become the first Italian man to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns a shot during a round of sixteen match against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, May 13.
During the audience, Angelo Binaghi, the head of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, gave Leo an honorary federation card.
"We all felt the passion that Leo XIV has for our sport and this filled us with pride," Binaghi said in a statement. "We hope to embrace the Holy Father again soon, maybe on a tennis court."
The pope and Sinner posed for photos in front of the Davis Cup trophy that Sinner helped Italy win for the second consecutive time last year. Also on display in the room was the Billie Jean King Cup trophy won by Italy in 2024, the biggest women's team event in tennis.
Earlier in the week, after Leo's first quip about not wanting to invite him, Sinner said it was "a good thing for us tennis players" that the new pope likes to play the sport.
In addition to tennis, Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox baseball fan.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, was a lifelong fan of Buenos Aires soccer club San Lorenzo.
Photos: A new pope, Leo XIV, is chosen
White smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
People react as white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Swiss Guards march after a new Pope was elected when 133 cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to select a successor to the late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Faithful celebrate after white smoke appeared from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
CORRECTS TO LEO, NOT LEONE - Cardinals following the election of Cardinal Robert F. Prevost as the 267th pope, choosing the name of Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Clerics wave US flags during the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People listen the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Nuns react after the announcement of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
People react as the newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People react as the newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV leaves the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after addressing faithful at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
An American flag is waved following the election of Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A statue of the Bernini Colonnade frames Pope Leo XIV appearing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful listen the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
FILE - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photo at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)
FILE - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, leads the recitation of the Holy Rosary for Pope Francis' health in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Newly elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, right, receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, file)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In this photo released by the Diocese of Chulucanas, Bishop Robert Prevost leads an anniversary celebration of the Diocese in Chulucanas, Peru, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (Diocese of Chulucanas via AP)
In this photo released by the Diocese of Chulucanas, Bishop Robert Prevost presides over Mass in Chulucanas, Peru, Aug. 12, 2024. (Diocese of Chulucanas via AP)
In this photo released by the Diocese of Chulucanas, Bishop Robert Prevost leads the celebration anniversary of the Diocese in Chulucanas, Peru, Aug. 12, 2024. (Diocese of Chulucanas via AP)
In this photo released by the Diocese of Chulucanas, Bishop Robert Prevost, third from right, poses with members of the clergy in Chulucanas, Peru, Aug. 12, 2024. (Diocese of Chulucanas via AP)
